


From Ashes

by anarchxst



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Vampire Slayer, Beacon Hills, Buffy the Vampire Slayer References, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Deviates From Canon, Eventual Romance, F/M, Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Minor Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, POV Original Character, POV Original Female Character, Past Character Death, Season/Series 01, Season/Series 02, Slayer Allison, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Stealth Crossover, Sunnydale, The Hellmouth, Uneasy Allies, Vampire Slayer(s), Vampires, Warning: Gerard Argent, Watchers, What Was I Thinking?, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-02-07 03:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 60,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1884447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchxst/pseuds/anarchxst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re not the one and only Chosen anymore.”</p><p>In May of 2003, the world changed forever - and, with it, several disastrous events were triggered that would shape the landscape future monsters and heroes would one day battle upon. Eight years later, at a time when help is hard to come by for the Argents, they contact an organization known as the Watcher's Council for the help of the one supernatural being they could ever trust: the Slayer.</p><p>The New Council sends sixteen year old Madeline Hayes on assignment to Beacon Hills to help the Argents and find the wolves while keeping Allison out of harm's way. Before long, her own path leads to Scott and Stiles, as well as the trouble that comes with them. A series of strange and horrible occurrences plague the Slayer and Beacon Hills, leading her to the true secret lying at the edges of town: </p><p>Something much more terrible than an Alpha or a Kanima was on its way to send Beacon Hills to Hell in a handbasket.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is hereby dedicated to my favorite canine who was judged unfairly by human beings and paid the ultimate price. "Not all monsters do monstrous things." Rest in peace, Sarge.
> 
> Speak out against pit bull prejudice and violence before it's too late.
> 
> Song Recommendation ["Starvation" - Thomas Bergersen]  
> NOTE: For the full experience, I do personally suggest seeking out each song rec.

 

_**O** nce upon a time..._

_That's how these things begin, right? That's how old men in ancient villages would pass along fairy tales - stories of big, burly men rescuing helpless damsels from evil monsters._

_I guess things have changed since then._

Three rings and nothing.

Her stomach coiled and she could feel herself gripping the phone so tightly that it was moments from being smashed to pieces in her hand. It was the only thing that would keep her hand steady though. It was the only thing to stop  _her_ from breaking to pieces. Shattering into weak, defenseless shards, ready to be ground into the dirt - right where she always knew she'd end up. The effort it took to get her there was so little that it made her sick.

The fourth ring sounded. Still no answer.

_In my world, women carry swords and monsters have learned to fear them. These girls you think nothing of at first sight march into battles with stakes and crossbows to face the things that lurk in the shadows - and they live to tell the tales._

_They are the chosen. We are the chosen._

_We are the warriors that keep you safe._

**"Hey! I'm not here right now! Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP!"**

The words felt leaden as she felt her heart drop like a stone into her gut when she heard the voice. Sure, it was prerecorded but the familiarity of it stung. The kindness and lightness in it reminded of another time, of better times that were so far away from her now. It reminded her of a kind woman comforting a weeping child and sounding heartbroken as she apologized over and over again. It reminded her more of her cheek stinging but she tried to focus on something else, something better. 

The cross hanging from the thin silver chain around her neck felt heavier against her chest than before. When the long beep rang in her ear, she swallowed.

_We are born and we are called - and for the sake of the world, we fight and we die. This is our mission._

_Despite everything that's happened, whole life is only a blip in a very long lineage. I knew my fate long before I stood here because it's one I share with thousands. It's not just words passed down for ages but something I've lived from the other side more times than I want to think about. It's fair to say that I never thought that my life and, one day, my death meant anything in the greater scheme. Maybe it still doesn't mean a damn thing._

"Buffy..." The name felt foreign on her tongue and fizzled out on her lips. She felt like a child, lost and too far from home. Worse, she felt like a shadow; like she was already a memory. Dark strands of hair spilled into her face and she didn't bother tucking them back as they hid her glossy eyes. Eyes that held over a year horrors, of loss. Of fear and sleepless nights. Of little more than pain. She felt a sob threatening to choke her breath and held it down.

"Something's happened..." she forced out. "Something...something's wrong."

_I'm not a hero or one set apart from many; I am a soldier._

_I never really considered any differently until now - until Beacon Hills._

"I didn't call for back up. I think it's too late for that. I just wanted..." Her stomach knotted and she sighed.  _Just wanted what? Forgiveness? To apologize? To tell you how much I screwed up?_  No, not quite any of that. She needed the truth from the only person who could possibly make it matter. The only person who could know what she was facing. "I know what's coming and I-...I can't stop it. I just needed some advice."

She looked down at the pristine carpet, trying to settle her nerves. Trying to think of anything but what she was leaving behind. "I mean, um, I know that you know what..." She pushed the choking sob in her chest down again. Now wasn't the time to break. There was so little time left that every moment felt larger and more important, but scarce. Time had a way of betraying you like that, she knew. Her voice escaped again, this time much quieter. "...what it feels like. Maybe then I won't be so afraid when it happens."

_My name is Madeline Hayes. In May of 2003, thousands of girls were chosen to use unbridled strength, speed, and agility to defend this world. I am one of them._

_We are Vampire Slayers - and this isn't a myth or a fairy tale. There is no lesson to be learned or happy ending._

_This is the beginning of the end of the world._

Her throat was dry but her eyes were still threatening to flood her face with tears. She clenched her teeth and her fists as tightly as she could without breaking anything, to stop the scream that was threatening to tear through her. "...I think I'm about to die."

 

* * *

 

_Seven months before..._

 

His pace didn't slow when he entered the living room until he came to a complete halt at the side table by the couch where the phone was set. One of two landline phones left in the house, mostly for emergency and hardly used otherwise. He roughly picked up the receiver and was about to hit the first number when his wife entered the room, horror in her intense blue gaze. "Chris, what do you think you're doing?"

"Using our last resort," was his short and equally gruff response. Tonight was too close of a call and if anything had happened to Allison, he'd only blame himself for not taking the extra precaution earlier.

Victoria shook her head furiously. "No. No, you can't mean...!"

"What choice do we have?!" He looked up from the phone to his wife, his own stare burning intently into hers. "There are two betas on the loose out there and an out of control Alpha. If those betas join its pack, we won't have the strength to stop them. You  _know_  that."

"But you  _can't_ rely on help from them. Yes, the council kept them in line once upon a time but they are _gone!_ " There was a pain in her voice Chris hadn't heard in years and let out a frustrated sigh as he looked away, almost ashamed. The redheaded woman clenched her jaw before speaking again. "They're just as dangerous as the wolves now. Maybe  _more_. There _has_ to be another way!"

His resolve returning at full force, he looked back at her with a hardened stare."I'm sorry. If you can think of another way, fine - but it's been ten years now. If we can't trust a god damn vampire slayer, who can we trust?"

 


	2. The Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes. Suspicion. Dreams. "Time's up."

It was day number one hundred and eighty-seven and counting. Always counting. Maddie traced the long, thinning scar to the left of her belly button through the black cotton of her t-shirt. Sometimes, she swore it still stung a little.

"Say it."

Her eyes snapped up, squinting in the sunlight at the outline of the man in front of her. "No."

"You have to."

"It's stupid. _She_ knows it's stupid and _you_ know it's stupid." She shuffled in her spot and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. Why did it feel heavier than before?

"It's not stupid but even if it was - which it _isn't_ , might I add - you have to say it anyway."

"But – !"

"Hayes, it's our code." Off of her raised eyebrow, he continued, "Okay, _your_ code. Not really my code. Well, sort of my code. Anyway – we can't let you leave until you say the code."

"It's an outdated legend, not a code." She crossed her arms. "And when the hell did that become a rule?"

"Around the time there became about three thousand of you." She stayed silent and simply blinked at the older man, her mouth remaining a thin line. His shoulders slumped. "Your capacity for jokes and witty comebacks is on point as usual."

The teenager, in a huff, took an exasperated breath and kicked the dirt on the ground. "...into every generation, slayers are born. The chosen. We alone have the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. To stop the spread of their evil and swell of their numbers."

"And that, my young padawan, is the end of your training," the man replied with a triumphant grin.

"Awesome. Now that I'm done feeding my absentee leader's ego, can I get out of here?" she bit back. Her tone even made her want to wince but when she looked up at the one eyed man, his demeanor stayed friendly regardless of her bad attitude. A frown tugged at her lips. "...I'm doing that thing again, aren't I?"

"It's alright, kid."

"But, Xander, I-"

He offered his hand with an understanding smile. "I know, Maddie."

She silently nodded and firmly took the hand. This was actually the most affectionate she'd been in months and it felt odd. Like, who actually shakes hands with a person who practically raised them as they go on their first mission _alone_? She was sure he understood why that's all she could do and appreciated the gesture nonetheless. It was more than some. Another few seconds and she let go, gripping her bag as a lump formed in her throat. "So...why _couldn't_ she be here?"

The man's smile faltered and his remaining eye scanned the ground. "It's complicated. She, ah...She sends her best."

'It's complicated' typically meant the older blonde woman still couldn't make eye contact with her yet, much less say goodbye. Maddie nodded again, a bit stiffer than before. "Right."

"She wishes she could be here."

"Sure, yeah. It's fine." Her stomach felt like it had been filled with lead - dense and weighted down. No room for anything else. She swallowed hard and gave him a guarded look. "Give her my best in return. And probably make it sound like I meant it, okay?"

The girl started towards the cab quietly regardless of her heavy bag and heavier feet. It was almost as if someone had latched a thousand tiny hooks into her skin and anchored her here, to San Francisco. To the past eight years. If she kept moving, so much would be torn away - or, worse, she would take it all with her. _Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. I could use the company._

Her footsteps paused at the thought and she turned to older man, fear in her eyes for the first time in what felt like a very long time. "I know I said that, um..." Her serious tone wavered and she huffed loudly. "I mean, I know that it's a solo thing. Which is fine. I get it. I'm ready. But does this mean..." Her voice became smaller with each hesitant sentence. "...are you still my Watcher?"

Xander smiled. "Yeah, Mads. And I'm just a call away."

She nodded curtly and quickly turned back to the cab, shoving her bag in the back. The young girl made haste as she got in and fought to not to look back, even as the taxi pulled away. Instead, Madeline dug through her bag and pulled out the picture she'd been given; it was of a small family gathered together in a brightly lit room. There was a middle aged man with a cold stare even as he smiled for the camera; a middle aged woman with short red hair, unfeeling blue eyes, and a frown that lined her mouth stood there like a proud lion next to the man. Then there was the girl; the daughter is what looked so out of place in the photo. Her long dark hair hung from her shoulders in loose curls and she wore a wide, carefree smile that managed to even reach her warm, brown eyes which seemed to hold nothing but happiness. Maddie scoffed, slightly angered by the bitterness in her own voice. The girl...she must not know what was really going on. The slayer turned over the picture to find a neatly displayed list.

_Alpha_ _\- has taken lives, capture and, if necessary, use lethal force._

_Betas_ _\- unknown if has taken lives, capture, question. Do not kill._

_Guard the girl. She attends Beacon Hills High School. You'll be doing the same. You know the drill. Don't reveal yourself._

_Keep patrolling regiment. No other unexplained deaths have been reported. Better safe than sorry._

_Once the problem is taken care of, report to HQ._

_\- BS_

_Such appropriate initials._ She finally took the chance to look up from the note as she smelled something sour in the air. She couldn't quite tell what it was but it certainly gave the smell of rotting corpses a run for their money. Her nose wrinkled in disgust and her eyes darted over to the portly cab driver. "...Your car smells."

"Hey, you're not exactly a field of fresh daisies yourself, princess." He glared at her through his rear view mirror and shook his head.

She eyed him a bit longer. "I'm confused. What does my lack of similarities with an open field have to do with the awful quality of your car?"

"That's it, missy." His frown deepened and his face began to turn a bright shade of red. "One more word and I pull over right freakin' here."

Maddie sighed quietly to herself and put the photo back in her bag. This would prove to be a very interesting trip, indeed.

 

* * *

 

 

He had nearly stumbled out of pure shock as he went to sit on Allison's bed - but, to be honest, that was probably an appropriate reaction on his part.

"Weird? Weird, how?" The words managed to escape Scott's throat the moment Allison mentioned the word weird - or, more specifically, the word 'weird' after the words 'my family's been acting'. The Argents put him on edge to begin with, but if they were acting stranger than normal, there was definitely something up.

Allison, though, was taken aback by how quickly her boyfriend answered. There was a panic he was attempting to hide in his voice and as she'd learned in the past, he wasn't a very good liar. "Just...weird. Not talking when I walk in a room. Giving each other these really strange looks. You know, the stuff they usually do, just... _more_." She let out a small laugh at the end to ease the tension. Although, when Scott didn't immediately reply, the corners of her lips tugged downward. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" he asked the last part genuinely. Things were getting increasingly strange in Allison's life and Scott could tell. It was probably much more difficult for her family to keep their secret from her than it was for him. A pang of guilt struck him at that.

She looked down at the pendant around her neck and sighed. "Yeah, it's fine... I just wish they would stop treating me like I'm this fragile, little doll. I can handle the truth."

 _Could she?_  Scott shook the thought away. "Yeah, totally." He paused for a moment, deciding quickly on the right way to word what he would say next. "You know, maybe it's just something dangerous. They may not want you to get hurt."

"Dangerous? Right." She laughed again. "Maybe my family's part of the mafia or something. My dad's probably in the right business then."

He forced a laugh at that. "It's the perfect cover! No one would be the wiser."

Allison let a chuckle escape her. "Yeah, maybe. But seriously..." She sighed and bit down on her lip. "It feels like they're, I don't know...waiting for something."

Scott's eyebrows furrowed as his stomach coiled painfully. "...like what?"

"I don't know yet," she replied, her voice becoming increasingly worried, "but with the way they're acting..." She glanced over at Scott, noting his worried expression. Scooting closer to him, she gave him a gentle, reassuring smile and touched his shoulder. "Sorry. I didn't actually invite you over to talk about my crazy family. You came over to ...  _study_."

There was an emphasis on study that he immediately picked up on and he grinned, though something hung there in his thoughts. You have to stay away from Allison. That's what Derek had said - and he had promised he would. Yet, here he was in her bedroom for less than what his 'mentor' would see as noble reasons. All the while, as she looked at him the way she always did, it didn't matter.  _What's the harm?_  was the only thought that repeated in his head and clung to him as he moved closer to her.

_...what's the harm?_

 

* * *

 

 

_The ground was soft and moist beneath her bare feet as she walked carefully into the forest. A warm breeze tousled her hair slightly and the full moon shined down brightly on her. She blinked then. The full moon. That meant something, didn't it? She gazed up at it curiously and gasped. The moon was terrifyingly massive; it almost took up a third of the whole night sky. She felt that it was hanging so low to her that she could almost touch it. Her fingered twitched at her side. **What if...?** She raised her hand slowly and shakily into the sky, reaching for the moon._

_That's when she heard it._

_A howl._

_It was so sudden and so loud that her outstretched arm jerked back. She instantaneously turned in the direction she'd heard the low, mournful sound from. Mournful? Is that how she would describe it? Lonely, even? Whatever it was, she started toward it, less like she made the decision to and more like she was being tugged on a leash. Dead leaves crunched beneath her feet as she neared the recurring sound. No. No, not one sound. There were several now and the sound had become deafening. An eruption of unbearable pain. Her breath caught at that moment and she stopped in her tracks._

_She closed her eyes and took a deep breath._

_The howling stopped. The woods became so quiet that she would've been able to hear a pin drop._

_Her eyes slowly opened and she suddenly had the urge to scream. Bodies. Bloodied, severed, and moving. Halved bodies moving towards her through the thick brush, reaching for her with pale, clawed fingers. She took a step back, checking her pockets for something - anything - she could use to defend herself. Nothing. They were getting closer._

_In a moment of sheer terror, she turned on her heel and sprinted. The howling started once again. The forest was becoming denser._

_"MADDIE!"_

_A voice rang out through the howling, close and etched with fear. Her pace quickened and her breathing became more ragged as she swerved around the trees. She felt her arm brush painfully with something sharp. A broken branch, maybe? She didn't have time to stop and check._

_"MADDIE!"_

_Out of her peripheral, she noted the sky had brightened. She glanced upwards, finding the moon had grown larger, gotten closer. Her heart raced and her eyes went forward again, causing her to come to an instant and unsteady halt. The howling grew louder behind her. She glanced down at her arm, where an open gash was now gushing with blood but it didn't concern her still. As her breathing slowed, her head snapped up again. The woods had ended. In front of her was an wide open field with grass reaching as far as the eye could see. That wasn't what caused her breath to catch._

_Several feet from her were two figures - one larger one holding the other in the air by the neck. The one on the ground had the deformed visage of what she clearly could tell was a vampire. The other seemed to be shadowed. This felt familiar as she suddenly noticed that it was raining. Had it been raining the whole time? She felt like it had as she focused on the two figures ahead. She wanted to run. She had to run. She had to save her this time. **Her?**_ _Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn't will her limbs to move. She knew, somehow, that she wouldn't make it. No matter how fast she ran, she knew she wouldn't change the outcome. It would happen._

_The vampire smiled and broke the shadowed figures neck instantly._

_"No!" Maddie screamed, the word feeling like it had shredded through her throat. In the next moment, a large rough hand gripped her neck. She was being held so tightly that she couldn't suck in a breath. Suddenly, the noise behind her had turned from howling to something much closer. Breathing - low, heavy breathing right next to her ear. There was a growl._

_The beast chuckled menacingly in her ear. "Time's up."_

_The hand tightened._

Maddie's eyes shot open as she took a sharp, gasping breath in. As her gaze adjusted to the dark, she looked around. Her bags were piled in the corner and the clock next to her read **4:17 AM.**

She sighed heavily as her eyes made their way to the ceiling. Twelve hours before, she'd been on a bus from San Francisco. She'd successfully made it to the bus stop in the cab with no further issues. The bus trip went smoothly as well, due to the lack of people. Now, she laid in her stiff bed in a Beacon Hills motel room that smelled almost as bad as the cab from earlier _. Karma, maybe?_ She shook her head at the idea and closed her eyes.

This was her new base of operations, her new home - if she could call it that. _And today..._ She groaned quietly and turned over.

Today she'd be starting a new terrifying mission.

Today... she was starting high school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't really count on so much support so soon! In return, here's chapter one! To the Buffy fans, this is not the last of the cameos. To everyone, let me know whatcha think!
> 
> Song Recommendation ["Bones" - MS MR]
> 
> NOTE: For the full experience, I do personally suggest seeking out each song rec.


	3. Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looks. Legends. Sarcasm. "I just...have a really weird family."

"Still not talking to me?"

If anything, Scott should've immediately noted the prolonged, icy silence coming from Stiles. This had been an ongoing trend since parent-teacher night and with good reason - Stiles' dad had gotten hurt. Any silent treatment or punishment thereafter he deserved for not being there that night, as far as Stiles was concerned. He could hear the concern in Scott's voice. "Okay, can you at least tell me if your dad's okay? It's just a bruise, right?"

Anger flared in Stiles' stomach. "Some soft tissue damage?" If Scott wasn't a werewolf, Stiles would've totally kicked his ass. He thought about trying anyway as Scott sheepishly muttered out, "...nothing that big..."

Nothing. Not a glare. Not an angry remark. Stiles was anything but outright stupid and knew just how much his silence would sting. Another uncomfortable pause engulfed them and he could almost see hear Scott shrinking in his seat. "...You know I feel really bad about it, right? Okay...what if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out and..." The uneasiness in his stomach grew once again and Scott's lowered his voice. "...that I went to  _Derek_ for help?"

Stiles released a loud, irritated sigh, unable to hold his thoughts on the matter in, which happened to annoy him further. "If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an  _idiot_ for trusting him." There was a slight pause again as he silently scolded himself before he spoke again. "...But obviously I'm not talking to you."

The bell sounded above their heads, followed by a silence that - funny enough - was now unnerving Stiles. Questions had begun buzzing around his head as he imagined what horrible advice the older, much less pleasant werewolf had given Scott. Seconds ticked away, eating at him before he quickly spun around in his chair. "What did he say?"

Scott smiled at him and looked like he was about to speak when the door to the classroom abruptly interrupted him. Both Scott and Stiles' attention was brought to the forefront of the room, as was everyone else's for the time being.

The principal had entered the room but not alone. As he went over to quietly speak to the teacher, a petite girl seemed to step out from behind him. Her lightly bronzed skin would've delicately complimented her long, chestnut hair fell that onto her shoulders in waves, if it didn't frame a positively joyless face. She looked around the room quite curiously, as if she didn't understand what she was seeing. Like she was a stranger to _classrooms_. She wore her eye makeup heavy and dark like some sort of viking warpaint and her clothes were simple, clearly more for comfort than for school - a black, long sleeve top, worn blue jeans, and a silver necklace that was tucked under her shirt. She gripped her books tighter as she examined every face in the room and tapped her shiny, Doc Marten clad feet impatiently. 

"Class..." the teacher began in a less than enthused tone as he stood and the principal took his inaudible leave. He stood behind the girl with a flat look. "Please welcome your new classmate, Madeline Hayes."

The was an uncomfortable silence that filled the room as every pair of eyes were set on Madeline. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth remained expressionless as the moment painfully stretched on. To be honest, Stiles assumed, from her look and expression, that she was the type to curse like it was breathing and knock someone out for bumping her in the hall. Like a cliche from a movie jumped out of the screen. Cute - in a badass almost-punk way, but more on the terrifying side.

"Well?" the teacher prodded, giving her his own expectant stare.

She looked over at the very wide, very red man, mouth now hung open. What was she doing? Why wouldn't she just sit down? Her gaze turned back toward the class and her mouth clamped shut. Her grip on her books loosened and she lifted up one hand, giving a slight wave. "Yep. I'm new."

Stiles shot Scott a confused look at the same time that his friend mirrored him. There was a small wave of giggles rising up from some of the other students. The large, red man tapped her shoulder and pointed to an empty desk at the far end of the room, next to Stiles. " _Well_ , take your seat. You can introduce yourself on your own time."

She frowned and furrowed her brows, looking as though she was thinking about punching the teacher. Instead, she said, "You don't have to be rude."

More giggling sounded around the room, including from Scott. The man became slightly redder and even Stiles snorted a laugh. " _Sit_ ," the teacher said in a booming voice.

" _Fine_ ," she added in a similiar, almost mocking tone and just loud enough for the room to hear before she swerved around a few desks to the lone empty one. The teacher had started to speak before she even dropped her books on her desk and her backpack on the floor. As she sat down in the cold, metallic seat, she quickly dug in her bag, the sound of metal clanking around out of sight prodding at Stiles' curiosity. All the while, she didn't notice there were still two set of curious eyes on her - that is until she set her notebook and pen on the desk.

She slowly turned her head toward them, looking from Scott to Stiles. Her eyes were black - well, not black. The brown was so dark that they seemed like tar pits, scalding if he looked too long. Everything about her felt bitter and angry and _violent_ , especially the glare she was giving him.

"What?" she whispered harshly, causing both him and Scott to shrug defensively and turn back to each other.

Scott's eyes widened as she turned to the front of the classroom and he turned to Stiles, "I'll tell you after class."

Stiles sighed and nodded, shaking the feeling of dread that the girl brought in with her. 

* * *

 

 _This should have been a lot easier._  That was the thought that kept floating through Maddie's head as she walked down the hallway to the cafeteria.  _This should have been much, much easier._  In the eight years that she'd been a vampire slayer, her 'mentors' made no real mention of their high school experience. Faith didn't seem to have a high school experience at all due to her altogether rough upbringing, which was entirely understandable. On the other hand, Buffy seemed to have different motives on the subject altogether. She, Mister Harris, and the few times Miss Rosenberg - their resident authority on magic - stopped by, they made inside jokes but never really delved into their pasts around the slayers in training. So, this mission in particular would in fact be very difficult.

Madeline grumbled under her breath and entered the large room. Throngs of teenagers filed in and out, chatting and laughing. It seemed a bit like the mess hall from the training grounds in Scotland, only much friendlier and far less strict. She'd been a bit hungry but the smell of the food being served seemed to curb her appetite altogether. Or maybe she was feeling nauseous beforehand; she couldn't tell. The high school experience wasn't what she was there for anyway. Cliques, homework, and bad food didn't seem all that great, to be honest. Besides, even if she was a student, she wasn't there at all to simply _be_ a student. Maddie sighed and gave herself a moment to strengthen her resolve.  _I'm a Slayer. I protect people. I'm **here** to protect people._

Her eyes scanned around the room, analyzing the faces more closely now. She spotted a few of her classmates from earlier that day, including the two strange boys from her first period History class. Speaking of, they seemed to be getting stranger by the minute as she noticed one of them ducking behind a textbook. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion but let it go fairly quickly when she followed the boy's gaze. Maddie's eyes lit up instantly as she was met with the sight of the girl from the photo she'd been given. Allison Argent.

Now, this would prove to be the tough part. Seeing as she'd spent half of her life with the same group of girls, she'd had no reason to go out and make new friends. Her best friend, Marie, would tell her how easy it was but Maddie never really caught on. It was tough enough to do that without being a supernatural being. She couldn't necessarily discuss the process of beheading a M'Fashnik demon or how the best made weapons didn't even come from this dimension. What did high school kids talk about - especially the new ones? Madeline slowly made her way over to the mostly vacant table, threading together a lie in her head to the best of her ability.

She stopped at the table where a fair girl with strawberry blonde hair continued prattling on about something. The girl seemed almost unapproachable, like she had a force field around her that was both magnetized and electrified. 

The leader of her squad, Emery, gave off an alarmingly similar aura and frequently went around calling herself a quote 'boss ass bitch', to which the rest of them would laugh. That didn't make it any easier to talk to the girl, though. People like that were intimidating, like her personality towered over others and left them in shadow. 

Of course, when the girl looked up, she gave Maddie an expectant look. Allison, who sat across the table from the girl, looked behind her, following her friend's annoyed stare.

Maddie took a breath and forced a smile. "Hi, ah..." _Be polite,_ she reminded herself quickly.   _These people can't see what you're thinking._ She could argue that with the laser-focused and narrowed look the red head was giving her. "Sorry to interrupt but there were no other tables available."

She didn't actually know that for a fact but hoped they didn't either.

"Erm, no, it's no problem!" Allison replied a bit awkwardly. She glanced back at her friend who gave her a shocked look and subtly shook her head. Allison, having already extended the greeting, smiled over at the strawberry blonde. "Right?"

The girl, clearly put on the spot by her friend, cocked her head to the side and forced her own smile. She held out a hand toward an empty chair, reluctantly obliging the request in silence. Madeline uneasily nodded and took a seat, dropping her leather messenger bag at her feet. She looked up at the two girls, who gave her curious and expectant stares. There was a short pause before Maddie's eyes widened, realizing the first mistake she'd made. "Oh! I'm Madeline. I'm new."

Allison smiled a toothy, genuine smile. "Really? Me too!" She gave a quiet, sheepish laugh. "Well, okay, not  _as_  new, but new."

Maddie forced her own laugh, although she wasn't quite sure why she was laughing. It seemed to be the best social response she could think of, though.

"I'm Allison," the brunette added and pointed to the other girl who didn't seem quite as enthused. "This is Lydia."

"So. Year?" The question was blunt and somewhat impolite, but Lydia didn't seem to care. Madeline stared blankly at her for a moment before Lydia rolled her eyes and went on. "Sophomore, Junior, Senior...?"

Maddie actually seemed to prefer this to the fake smile though. It felt honest. "Oh! Sophomore. Um, I was actually wondering..." That being considered, she felt particularly dishonest at the moment. She reached in her bag, sifting through the contents - including her hand ax that was wrapped in a thin black cloth but she did well not to let people see that - and pulled out a piece of paper. She wasn't used to thinking on her feet in anything but combat so this was probably the flimsiest thing she could come up with. "Do either of you know where Mister...Finstock's room is? I didn't get that far on the tour."

"You mean Coach?" Allison asked. She held out her hand and nodded toward the paper. Maddie reluctantly handed it over and waited for Allison to look over it as Lydia continued to pick idly at her food. Allison smiled and gave Madeline the paper back. "Good news! You have Econ with us. I can show you where it is if you wait by the lockers outside the cafeteria after sixth period."

"Sure! Thanks." she answered a little too quickly, finally feeling like she was getting somewhere. This was probably the best way to keep the youngest Argent in her sights though.

"No problem! Us new girls have to stick together," Allison replied with a grin and nudged Maddie lightly in the shoulder with her own. She then motioned to Lydia who had not been paying attention whatsoever. "And if that doesn't work, we have someone to show us the ropes. Right, Lydia?"

"Hm?" was Lydia's only reply as she looked up, a dull expression resting on her features.

* * *

 

Stiles turned around and examined the three girls sitting at the table - mostly to catch a glance at Lydia Martin but that was beside the point. He looked across table at the friend he was still cross at. "Man, do you see this?"

Scott peeked over his textbook at the girls. "Uh, yeah. Why?" He ducked again.

"Is this the year of the instantly popular new girls? I mean, that weird one from our History class is over there already and it's only day one!" He stuffed some more food in his mouth and continued speaking. "Which, by the way, makes no sense. People spend their entire school careers trying to even get half as close they did to girls like Lydia. Myself included."

Scott shrugged but Stiles could barely tell from the propped up book between them. "She just sat down over there. Have you tried that?"

"Nah, too simple." Stiles bit his thumbnail, eyes narrowing on Madeline. She was certainly not the type to want to hang out with someone like Lydia, or that Lydia would allow to sit there. It must've been Allison. Allison was too nice and probably invited her over there. Or something. "Seriously, dude. It's like a bad omen."

Scott, still hiding behind his book, groaned. "Okay, could you not talk about bad omens? I've got enough to worry about."

"What?" Stiles responded and looked back at Scott. "Oh. Right."

* * *

 

"So what were you going on about before?" Lydia asked quite plainly, speaking as if it were only her and Allison at the table and waving her fork around as she spoke.

Maddie sat there quietly, praying from lunch to be done with. She wasn't hungry and now she seemed to be becoming more and more bored by the second. She could've spent the time doing something useful, like working out in the gym. Of course, she didn't know where the gym was yet.

Allison's head perked up from the book she was reading. "Huh? Oh yeah! That." She glanced over at Madeline, a bit embarrassed. "I'm doing this history project and -"

"Sweetie, lunch is over in like fifteen minutes," Lydia interrupted with a plastered on smile. "You might want to speed this up."

Allison gave her a knowing and slightly chastising look before directing her attention back to her book. "Well, um..." She sounded a bit embarrassed. "...In here there's this excerpt about the beast of Gevaudan."

There was a pause. Madeline gave Allison a confused look for more than one reason. Lydia, who seemed to be only half paying attention at that point spoke up. "The what of who?"

"The beast of Gevaudan," Allison repeated without missing a beat or even getting mildly annoyed. "Listen. 'A quadruped wolf-like monster, prowling the Auvergne and south Dordogne areas of France during the year 1764 to 1767."

Madeline's head unintentionally perked up. Something was certainly off about this. This couldn't be right; normal teenagers don't talk about monsters during lunch and she didn't need social skills to know that.

"'La Bete killed over a hundred people, becoming so infamous that the King Louie the 15th sent one of his best hunters to try and kill it.'" The pale brunette looked up at her best friend almost expectantly.

"Boring," Lydia replied instantaneously. Maddie withheld a relieved breath.

Allison leaned in closer as if she was revealing a secret. "Even the church eventually declared the monster a messenger of Satan."

"Hmm..." Lydia tilted her head, as if she were actually thinking her answer over. "Still boring."

Allison continued to read aloud, regardless of her friend's tiresome remarks. "Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of hoofed predator, possibly a mesonychid."

"Slipping into a coma bored," came Lydia's next comment.

This time, Madeline let out a small laugh. It wasn't forced, but it certainly didn't sound natural either. It was nervous, like a hiccup forcing its way up.

Allison looked up at the newcomer, slightly disheartened. Lydia gave Allison a pointed stare, using her fork to point at Madeline. "See? She agrees with me."

Maddie paused, frozen in horror at the sound she'd made. She pushed through her embarrassment and grabbed at the first thought. "I-it's just that...okay, it sounds interesting, but instead it comes out like..." She thought for a moment before eyeing her textbooks. She held up a book that happened to be titled  _'Chemistry: In Practice, In Action!'_  "...this. Like getting a really cool gift in a brown paper bag, you know?"

It was all she could come up with -  calling Allison's story boring. This was definitely not how she imagined her first meeting with the girl would go. She assumed it would have been during a class or something much less conspicuous. Instead, Allison was talking about werewolves during lunch and Maddie was making an ass of herself.

 Lydia's smile was almost smug when she looked back at Allison. Maddie took that as a cue to shrink away from the conversation again, which she was relieved to take advantage of. She wasn't aware of how difficult it would be to talk to normal teenagers. It was _exhausting_. Allison seemed hardly phased by the comments altogether. "Hold on, hold on! While others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a man-eating  _monster_."

This girl clearly knew more than Madeline was originally told she knew. She expected a girl without the slightest idea what went bump in the night but here was possibly the most clueless Argent talking about monsters over lunch. It was almost like being back at headquarters, only a million times more awkward and stressful.

Lydia raised a questionable eyebrow. "Any of this have anything to do with your family?"

"This," Allison continued, clearly enthralled in the book again. "It is believed that la Bete was finally trapped and killed by a renown hunter who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature." She looked up at the two girls. "His name was _Argent_."

The shock on Maddie face was something she could not fake. It obviously wasn't for the same reasons as Allison's own shock but it was certainly a real emotion. The Slayer was starting to understand more fully the issue she was presented with and what the rest of the Argents wanted her here for. This wasn't protect Allison from what she didn't know; it was to protect her from what she was already on the cusp of discovering. Maddie was supposed to be what? An impenetrable wall? Was she supposed to close the book on the table as Allison continued to read it? Of course, she tried to hide her reaction; she by all counts was supposed to have no idea that that was the girl's last name.

Lydia's stare, though, was still genuinely blank. "Your ancestors killed a big wolf. So what?"

"Not just a big wolf. Take a look at this picture," Allison replied as she turned the book and propped it up for her friend to see. "What does it look like to you?"

As if her time at that table hadn't been odd enough, she examined the look on Lydia's face. The girl had gone sickly pale and her eyes widened in what could only be described as horror. There was something else though that Maddie had to take a second or two to pinpoint. Was it...familiarity?

"Lydia?" Allison looked at her friend worriedly. "Lydia."

The strawberry blonde's eyes snapped up to Allison's brown ones and she spoke, her voice on edge. "It looks. Like a big. Wolf." At that she smiled and stood. "See you in History."

Lydia didn't seem to deem it necessary to say goodbye to Maddie as she left but it didn't seem to bother the newcomer in the least. In fact, she was still processing the information she'd just been handed.

Allison sighed heavily and set the book down again. She glanced over at Madeline, embarrassment written all over her face. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." She gave an apologetic smile. "This must be super weird. I don't know what I was thinking." The youngest Argent laughed quietly at herself. "I swear, I'm not always this much of a freak."

Maddie gave the girl a blank stare, clearly not used to people apologizing for something as menial as 'weirdness'. Or, you know, talking about monsters. "What? Oh. No, no, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with weird." She smiled at the girl, attempting to reassure her. "I can handle weird. Besides, I've heard weirder."

Both curious and appreciative, Allison replied with a meek, "Really?"

"Definitely. Like, everyday." As if on cue, warning signs began flashing in Maddie's brain.  _Too much information! Alert! Mayday!_  After a short pause, she blinked and quickly added, "I just...have a really weird family."

Allison a laugh and a knowing smile. "That makes two of us." 

Maddie tried to hide her grimace at the reply. She couldn't help but wish she hadn't sat at Allison's table for lunch. At that, she heard a voice speaking loudly over the few students left in the cafeteria. Her eyes flicked over to the direction of the voice, finding the pale, scrawny boy from her History class looking increasingly annoyed and taking a book out of the other boy's grasp, leaving him out in the open. 

Allison's eyebrows furrowed. "Scott?"

Scott's eyes darted over to Allison as he began to make a hasty escape, following his friend out of the cafeteria. Maddie looked over at the scene, recognizing the boy almost immediately.

"Sorry," Allison began quickly as she grabbed her things and stood. "I gotta go." Without waiting for a response, she hurriedly left the cafeteria as well. "Scott, wait!"

"S'okay..." Maddie muttered to herself. She exhaled loudly as more and more questions filled her head. She gathered her things and took out her phone as she strolled out of the room. "I gotta make a call anyway."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are Buffy fans, I just wanted to let you know that this doesn't follow the comic continuity. Things get super confusing and I don't want to alienate those who aren't familiar with BtVS too badly.


	4. Speaking In Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Econ. First impressions. A howl. "What are you doing here?!"

The bell had rung once more and sixth period had finally ended. Madeline struggled with her bag as she thought about all the pointless work she'd already been given. It'd already been a hellish day and she'd only just narrowly avoided a detention for 'rudely talking back' in Chemistry. That seemed to be the general consensus from her teachers thus far – Maddie was  _apparently_  rude. She'd honestly never missed training so much in her life when compared side by side to high school. Finally, the day was nearly through and she was headed to… She stopped in her tracks. Which class was she headed to? She quickly rummaged through her bag and pulled out the same piece of paper from earlier.

_**Seventh Period….Economics** _

She stared at it for a moment longer with a befuddled look on her face.  _Economics?_   _That was a_ _ **required**_ _class?_  "Okay…" she muttered, shoving the paper back in her bag and looking around as she started walking again.

As she swerved around other students, her thoughts wandered back to her strange lunch experience. Unfortunately no one had answered her phone call but she made sure the message she left was off putting enough to warrant a call back.

"Madeline!"

She paused at the sound of her name and looked around. Odds were it would be for a different Madeline anyway - no one there knew her well enough to try and get her attention for any reason she could think of. That was when she spotted Allison waving her down.  _Right!_  The light bulb had flickered on in her head, reminding her of what the girl had said during lunch - at least the parts that weren't about hunters and giant wolves. She refrained from letting out a deep, frustrated sigh and walked over to Allison with a wave and a small, forced smile. The girl in front of her returned the smile. "Hey! I was starting to think you were going to pass right by."

"Sorry," Maddie said almost begrudgingly as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "I was spacing out, I guess."

"No, that's totally understandable!" Allison waved it off nonchalantly. "I'm sure you've got a lot on your plate, you know with it being your first day and all." She didn't wait for Madeline to reply as she started walking and motioned for the other girl to follow. "C'mon! The last thing you want is for Coach to point out that you're late. Trust me."

The petite Slayer nodded and began walking beside the taller girl. Allison continued talking as they quickly went down the hallway and around another corridor. Madeline nodded and smiled, only half paying attention. If there was anything she learned from growing up with essentially only teenage girls, it was to at least pretend you were listening. She hated it though; she felt so very... _fake_. She knew though...she knew that it wasn't about actually  _making_  friends. She was protecting this girl, all the while not letting anyone know what she really was. She was sure that it was hard enough to play off that this was a normal town without a vampire slayer being thrown in the mix. "...and that's hard enough to deal with, you know?"

The shorter girl blinked and looked up. Clearly, from the look on Allison's face, a response was expected.

"Oh, yeah."  _You weren't listening_ , a voice in the back of Maddie's head chastised. She mentally shook it off and followed Allison into the classroom that was already nearly full. She noticed the girl spot that boy from earlier -  _Scott, wasn't it?_  - and hurry to the seat behind him. The other strange boy had tried to take the seat but was just barely beaten to it by Allison and took the seat beside her.

"Madeline, over here!" Allison pointed to the seat diagonal from her that happened to be next to Scott and in front of his friend. She refrained from grumbling and swallowed her pride as she walked over and took the seat. Uncomfortably she turned slightly to Allison and the two boys. The fair brunette gestured to Maddie. "Guys, this is Madeline. Madeline, this is my boyfriend, Scott, and his friend, Stiles."

"Really, everyone can just call me Maddie. It's fine," she replied politely.

"We met actually," the boy behind her -  _Stiles? That's a weird name_. - interjected. "Well, sort of. She made our history teacher nearly pop a blood vessel in record time." He looked over at her and gestured with his pencil in hand. "Kudos on that, by the way."

"Thanks?" Maddie replied with a confused look. "But, wait, isn't that bad?"

"Nah." Stiles shook his head and leaned back in his seat. "In fact, you might want to try it on all the teachers around here. Extra points if you get Harris to quit."

The other two had already started up their own conversation, which from the looks on their faces was not going very well. "The…Chemistry teacher?" Maddie sighed. "I think he already doesn't like me."

"See? You're already half way there. Good job." Off of her blank stare, he gave her his own strange look. "You  _really_ don't get sarcasm, do you?"

"Should I?" came her biting remark. It wasn't the first time someone had told her that.

Stiles wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Of course not. I mean, it's not like most people in high school use it or anything."

She silently gave the boy an odd stare and turned around in her desk as the teacher slammed a book down.

"Let's settle down," Coach started, giving his class a scrutinized stare. "Let's start with a quick summary of last night's reading." As Maddie took out her book, others raised their hands. "Greenberg, put your hand down. Everybody knows you did the reading." The large, slightly crazed-looking man walked around his desk. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Madeline. "You. Girl in black."

Her head snapped up and she gave him a wide-eyed stare. "M-Madeline."

"Yeah, whatever. Madison." He folded his arms and continued to glare at her. "Last night's reading, Summary. Go."

Maddie mouth hung open for a second before she found her voice. "I didn't do the reading. I'm actually new…"

"Pfft! Like I haven't heard that one before," Coach went on, suspicion seeping into his voice.

"No, seriously, Coach. She's new. It's her first day," Scott spoke up, throwing Maddie a side glance. She mouthed a  _'thank you'_  in which Scott simply nodded.

Coach Finstock gave another suspicious look before heading back over to his desk, sifting through the papers on it. "I don't know what you're trying to pull but I think I'd know if we had a new -" He picked up a paper, squinting at it. "Madeline Hayes. Grade ten. Seventh period." He slammed the paper back down and looked over at the girl who was sinking down in her seat. "Keep up, Hayes. I'm watching you." He gestured two fingers to his eyes then to her. He then turned his attention back to Scott. "Fine then! Since you're full of helpful information today, how about you, McCall!"

He glanced up at his teacher, with the same deer caught in the headlights look that Maddie had worn seconds ago. "Wha…"

"The reading." Coach sat on his desk and looked down at Scott expectantly.

"...Last night's reading?" Scott asked, clearly stalling.

Coach shook his head slightly. "How 'bout, ah...the reading of the Gettysburg address?"

Scott face went from surprise to confusion in all of about five seconds. "What?"

"That's sarcasm," he deadpanned. "You familiar with the term 'sarcasm', McCall?"

"Very," Scott replied, looking back at Stiles. Maddie threw a side glance to the boy behind her, who looked very proud of himself.

_Seems to be the theme of the class_ , Maddie thought with an eye roll as she faced forward again.

* * *

The school day had finally ended and a distinct feeling of freedom seemed to wash over Madeline. On the other hand, she hadn't managed to shake Allison off her trail. She seemed to be going on about Scott, who apparently seemed to be avoiding her for most of the day. Whatever had been wrong though seemed to slightly clear up after class. Now, Allison wore a smile as they left the building and she continued on about something happening later that night.

Maddie felt slightly guilty. Allison was a genuinely nice person who honestly seemed to like her for some unknown reason. And here was Madeline feigning interest and hardly listening. In fact, she knew the only reason she was even pretending to listen was simply due to her mission. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and continued her seemingly foolproof method of smiling and nodding.

"Oh, my dad's here!" Allison smiled and waved off in the other direction. Maddie turned and spotted an older man standing outside of an SUV as something dawned on her – it the man from the picture. She withheld a sigh as she continued to follow the younger Argent. "Dad, hi."

"Hey, sweetheart," he said with the same smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, which then darted over to Madeline. "Who's your friend?"

Allison gestured to her. "This is Maddie. She's new."

"Madeline Hayes," Maddie added, her tone almost sounding professional. She smiled politely and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mister Argent."

He cautiously shook the girl's hand, studying her carefully as if she were a wild animal in a cage. "...New?"

Maddie's smile widened and she nodded. "Just started today."

"Welcome to Beacon Hills. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do." He let go of her hand, stuffing both of his into his coat pockets.

Maddie looked back at the school, then to Allison, and back to her father. "It's been good so far. Can't complain." She felt as if she was speaking in code to the man.

"Good. Allison," the old Argent continued, turning to his daughter, "we should get home. I'm sure your new friend has a lot of work to do."

Allison nodded briskly to her father and turned to Maddie. "See you tomorrow, then?"

Madeline gave a short nod to the girl. "Yep, see you tomorrow."

Allison waved as she got in the SUV and her father gave Maddie one last pointed glance before walking around the car to the driver's side. As they drove off, the slayer sighed heavily and kicked some dirt on the ground. Her stomach coiled as she thought of tomorrow - and even the day after that. How long did she need to be here? And exactly how long were the Argents going to leave their daughter in the dark about it?

* * *

The sun had set and Madeline had only managed to finish half of her homework – something she hadn't done since about the second grade. Of course there was much, much more of it these days and understandably so. That didn't mean she had to like it.  _How did they expect kids to do this every day?_ she recalled thinking. Now, it was quarter past eight and she'd been roaming the streets of the small town with a leather messenger back at her side full of handheld weapons. Miss Summers had told her to keep up her patrolling regiment and report any other odd activity. Alas, there seemed to be hardly any odd activity in the town. She'd been out for hours and not even one vampire seemed to rear its ugly head. There were no missing bodies from the cemetery according to the skittish boy who worked there. He seemed a bit perturbed at the question in general though and probably wouldn't have told her anyway.

At that point, she felt as if her only reasoning for being out was to avoid her mountain of work and the rancid smell of the motel room.

Her feet continued to lead her all around town and somehow managed to make it all the way back to the high school. It was one of the few places she had memorized the route to so it was really no surprise that she had unconsciously found herself there. She was about to head back though, as it seemed pointless to even patrol the area. Unfortunately, that was when things started picking up for her that night - and in probably the strangest way possible.

"AOWOOOUUUUUUOOUUUU!"

That was the sound she heard over the loud speaker all around the school grounds. It was certainly enough to make her stop and look back at the school. "What in the  _hell_ was that?" she muttered to herself. Whatever it was, it sounded human at least.  _Maybe someone was pulling a prank or …_

The sound that came next was the one that truly shook her at her core.

A howl. A howl like she heard in her nightmare. The type of howl she was trained to know. Suddenly she knew whatever was in that school certainly was not human.

She gripped her messenger bag and strode over in the direction of the school. As she tried to press in the door, it wouldn't budge. Taking a step back, she quickly gave the door a firm kick. She heard the lock break and the door - half off its hinge - swung open. She took one last look around and entered the building cautiously. Her footsteps echoed in the empty halls as she walked slowly, listening for any other sounds. She took another measured step before hearing what sounded like a guttural roar now outside the building. Her head snapped over to the direction of the sound and she started running toward it as fast as her feet would allow. Of course, it didn't last long as she neared another door that swung open.

Two boys ran in and swiftly closed the doors behind them, holding it tight. She stopped in her tracks as the boys heaved in breaths and turned toward her.

Before her stood the same strange boys from earlier that day, Scott and Stiles.

And now they were gawking at her.

In the empty halls of the school, all three voices echoed loudly, "What are you doing here?!"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, Night School is coming. After all, to quote JK Rowling, "there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other". Or in this case, you know, being super suspicious of each other. Either way. Also, thanks for the kudos! I was pretty much expecting nothing for this so that made my day!


	5. Déjà Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arguments. Lies. Excuses. "Can I just say how terrible of a plan that is?"

"Really? Damn." A short, mirthless laugh escaped Kate's lips. "Those little girls know how to work quick, don't they?"

"And you're sure it was her," Victoria spoke out, gripping the glass in her hand tightly.

Chris flipped through the pages in the manila folder. A cheaply copied picture was attached to one of the sheets of paper. The girl wore a deep frown and a dull stare – a very different face than she wore for show earlier that day. "Madeline Hayes. Sixteen." He threw the pages on the table, in front of the two women. "It was her."

The redhead picked up the paper that had the photograph copied onto it, scanning of the information quickly before throwing it back down. "She should have checked in with us first before introducing herself to Allison."

"And ruin the element of surprise?" Kate chimed in with the same amount of malice etched in her voice. "We couldn't have that."

The graying man eyed his sister for a moment before turning to his wife. "Look, we wanted fast results and here she is. I don't like this any more than you do – "

"You sure about that, big brother?" came Kate's sharp comment as she stood, now eye level with him. "Cause the way it's looking is that you don't trust your  _family_  to get the job done but you'll bring in a complete stranger with what? Super powers?"

"We have no reason to think the Council isn't on our side," he replied, giving the younger Argent a hard stare. "And it isn't the first time one of us has called on them for help, is it?"

Kate's nostrils flared and her jaw clenched tightly as she glared at her brother. "Wake up, Chris. That was nine long years ago. We  _knew_  what we were up against."

" _We_? If I recall, nine years ago you were shouting about how you didn't want to be a part of this family." Chris' voice was growing louder as he continued. " _You_  had no idea what we were up against."

Kate folded her arms and laughed. "You mean just like Allison?" At the mere mention, she saw a blaze of anger in Chris' stare. Pleased with the result, her own gaze narrowed on the man. "Face it - you trust a bunch of demons over your own blood. If you haven't noticed, they're not kept on a leash anymore. The Council you knew is  _dead_."

Victoria's glass slammed down on oak tabletop, calling both hunters' attention. There was a pause as the woman stared down at her drink, lost in the thoughts of another time. She drew in a breath and raised her dark stare to her husband. "I would like to meet this girl by the end of the week if you insist she spend time with our daughter."

Chris silently nodded before sending one more look back at his sister and leaving the room.

* * *

Both panicked boys held the doors tightly shut. Scott turned to Stiles, eyes wide with fear. "Lock it! Lock it!"

"Does it look like I have a key?!" Stiles replied incredulously.

"Grab something!" Scott replied hurriedly. "Anything!"

Madeline stood there, frozen by the event that had gone down. What in god's name were they doing there at the school that late and what exactly  _were_  they running from?  _Unless…_  The howl. Did they see it? Did they even know what they saw? Regardless of the things the girl had seen in her short life - _including_ werewolves, it didn't mean things like this didn't tend to catch her off guard. She stared at the boys and the color drained from her face as one of them stood and looked out the small window in the door.

The first boy –  _Scott, I think? Yeah, Scott._  – stood as well and braved a glance out the window on his side. He looked to his friend, horrified. "No."

The second boy who Maddie couldn't remember the name of quite yet passed his friend something. "Yes."

"Stiles, don't!" Scott shouted as the other boy pushed open the door and left.

Maddie's eyes widened and she rushed over to the doors to look outside. She quickly glanced over to Scott. "What's he doing?"

"Um," Scott began, as if something was caught in his throat. "The pliers. G-grabbing those pliers."

Her gaze only grew more confused as she looked out the window again. "For _what_?!"

Scott didn't answer as they watched Stiles kneel down and grab the pliers on the ground carefully. That was when something caught Scott's attention and he began banging on the window. "Run! Run! Stiles!"

Madeline looked up farther to find what had Scott so terrified. Hunched over and moving from behind the jeep in the parking lot was a large, snarling, red eyed wolf. It's fur-covered, elongated arms launched it forward towards Stiles. Her mouth hung open, she back away slowly from the door.  _No. It's too early. It's only been a day. One freaking day!_

In a matter of moments the door opened again and Stiles quickly fastened the pliers in the door handles. The two boys checked outside once more, even using the flashlight once over.

"Okay, _what_ is going on?!" Maddie shouted. Of course, she had an idea but there was no way she could let them know that. "And what are you doing here?!"

The boys turned to her with equally horrified expressions. "What are  _we_  doing here?!" Stiles nearly shouted his indignant reply. "What are  _you_  doing here?!"

_Damn it._  What  _was_  she doing there? She swallowed and gave the two an indignant glare as her grip tightened on her bag. "I went for a walk. I heard a noise."

"Oh, so you went for a walk at night by yourself around the school?" The pale boy gave a shrug. "Because that makes perfect sense."

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes on him. "I. Was.  _Bored_. So yeah, I went for a walk. At night. By myself."

Stiles paused and gave her a suspicious look. "…Around the schoo-"

" _Yes_ , around the school!" Maddie cut him off abruptly. "I'm new, remember?! I know about two places in town and this is one of them!"

"You said you heard a noise?" Scott asked suddenly.

Calming herself a bit, Maddie blinked and looked over at him. "…Yeah? It was coming from the school speakers."

Stiles' eyebrows furrowed as he gave the girl a scrutinizing stare. "So you go  _towards_  it?!"

She gave an exasperated sigh as her eyes darted over to the boy. "It sounded like something was dying! So  _yeah_ , I went towards it."

"Like something was…" Stiles looked over to Scott who was looking very sheepish at that moment. The scrawnier boy sighed and looked back to Maddie. "…Yeah, we heard that."

Scott glanced at the girl worriedly. "Did you hear anything after that?"

"Yeah," the petite slayer started, her mind racing. "It was like a roar...or something. But sort of not, you know?"

"…we heard that too," Scott muttered quietly, giving his friend an indiscernible gaze.

"I, um…" Madeline paused briefly, choosing her words carefully. "I was already in the school by that time. I was actually looking for the way out. I got kind of freaked." She adjusted the strap on her shoulder. "That when I ran into you two."

Scott nodded and gave her an understanding look.

"Guys, I hate to break this up, but we should probably be – I don't know –  _moving_ ," Stiles spoke up, his eyes set on the pliers stuck in the doors.

The boys began backing up from the double doors, as did Maddie. Scott glanced over at Stiles, eyes wide. "That won't hold, will it?"

Stiles looked over at his friend with the same fear in his eyes. "Probably not."

They three looked towards the dark, empty hallway. Madeline considered her odds of getting away from the two while avoiding suspicion but all of her thoughts were abruptly cut off. In the depths of the school, the three teenagers heard a howl. In a matter of seconds, Scott and Stiles took off while Maddie found she had no choice but to follow. She didn't like the chances the boys had of staying out of harm's way on their own.

They made their way into an empty classroom and Scott immediately went over to the teacher's desk, pushing it towards the door. Stiles got in his way quickly. "Stop, stop! The door's not gonna keep it out."

"What is  _it_  anyway?!" Maddie asked quietly. Sure, she knew but the question was if they had any idea.

The boys glanced up at each other, mouths gaping, and then over to Madeline. "Ah…" Scott began, eyes darting from Stiles to the girl. "…a mountain lion?"

If there was ever a flimsy lie, that would be it. Stiles rolled his eyes at his best friend. Maddie raised an eyebrow. " _Really_? Do you get a lot of giant black mountain lions around here?!"

Stiles looked over at the girl almost solemnly. "…We don't know what it is."

"Well, it looked like a wolf," she retorted bluntly. "A big, crazy looking wolf." If there was any chance that she had of seeming clueless, lying about what she saw was not the way to start. Anyone else might've done the same. _Hopefully_.

"Well, yeah, could be that," Stiles muttered under his breath.

Scott glanced up at his friend, his expression still holding quite a bit of concern. "So what do we do?"

"We get to my jeep, we get out of here." As Stiles passed Scott, he managed to mutter quietly so only his friend could hear him.

Madeline eyed the two strangely but followed them over to the windows all the same. There was something off about them that she couldn't quite place yet. It didn't matter at the moment though. What matters was that she made sure they got out of the building unscathed – which may be harder than she thought.

Scott began pushing at the window when Stiles caught his attention. "No, they don't open; the school's climate controlled."

"Then we break it," Scott replied, although his tone didn't seem to have much confidence behind it.

"And make a lot of noise," came Stiles' retort.

Scott looked out the window, scanning the area. "Then we run really fast." He eyed Stiles' jeep, his sense of urgency only heightening as he noted how far off it was. He turned to his friend with an uneasy expression. " _Really_  fast."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Madeline groaned, walking away from the two.

Stiles gave the girl an extremely offended stare and nearly said something when Scott spoke up. "Stiles, what's wrong with the hood of your jeep?"

The other boy's attention was instantly torn away from the annoyingly rude girl and back to the window. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

"It's bent!" Scott squinted to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks. There, in the distance was the blue jeep with its hood curved nearly into a 'u' shape and set on top of the exposed engine.

"Dented?" Stiles asked, panic rising in his voice as he got closer to the window to check over his friend's shoulder.

"No, I mean bent!"

Stiles flicked on the large flashlight and pointed it over to his car. "What the hell – "

Before he could finish what he was saying, something came crashing through the window above their heads. Scott and Stiles ducked close to the ground as glass showered down on them. Maddie, who was on the other side of the room, jumped at the noise and stumbled back into a desk. As silence filled the room again, the slayer stood and walked over, discovering what the two boys were staring at, utterly horrified.

"…That's my battery," Stiles said, his voice distant and almost disbelieving. He tried to stand when Scott pulled him back down to the floor.

"Don't," he muttered.

Madeline stared at the battery a second longer before her stare went to the boys. If nothing else, now she was sure she had to get away from them and find this thing - with any luck, as discreetly as possible. _As much as HQ would_ love _for me to give away my identity._   "That's it." Her hands flew up defensively. "I'm out of here."

"No!" Scott replied in a hushed voice. "You don't know – "

"What I  _know_ ," she began as she backed out of the room, "is that I've been going with the plan you two are making up as you go. And it's sucked so far." She walked out of the room and into the hall once more, looking around. I should be fighting this thing, not hiding from it.

"No! Maddie!" Scott called out, looking over at his best friend quickly.

Stiles looked back at him with an almost pleading look, reading Scott's expression. "Seriously?"

Scott shrugged and they both got up, rushing out into the halls. The young werewolf spotted the girl and jogged up to meet her. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving!" she called back as she spun around.

Stiles exchanged a shocked glance with Scott before stepping in front of Madeline. "You can't just  _leave_! There's – "

"There's  _what_?" She folded her arms and gave the two a scrutinizing stare.

The boys looked at each other again, unsure of how to answer. Stiles cleared his throat. "…There's a  _thing_  out there and if you haven't noticed, it destroyed the only mode of transportation we have! I don't think leaving's really an option at this point!"

"Hiding in classrooms isn't working either!" she said harshly. It wasn't beginning to look like they weren't about to let her lose them which only annoyed her further.

Scott sighed, too many thoughts swirling around in his head to possibly think straight. "We…we just need to find some place safe to make a plan."

"You know what? Fine. Let me see your phone real quick." She gave Scott an expectant stare which was returned with confusion.

"Why?"

"Mine's dead," she answered quickly.

Scott frowned and scratched the back of his head. "Mine's kind of broken…"

Maddie and Scott turned their eyes to Stiles who blinked a few times and looked back and forth between the two. "Wait, what?"

The girl held out her hand in front of him. "Your phone, I need to use it."

Stiles didn't move for a second or two as Scott motioned for him to oblige. He finally and hesitantly dug through his pocket and pulled out his smartphone, handing to the girl with a sour look on his face. She took out her own and began typing on both quickly.

Scott and Stiles both gave her a shocked look before Stiles spoke up. "Woah, hey! You just said – "

"Yeah, and I lied." She finished typing on the phones before turning Scott's around to face the boys.

_Madeline - EMERGENCY  
(415) 555-1234_

"I have your number and you have mine," she began as she put her phone away and handed Stiles' phone back to him.

Stiles took the phone and shoved it back in his pocket while Scott gave the girl an odd look before speaking. "But why?"

"Because we're splitting up," Maddie stated, giving them both a blank stare. In that instant, both teenage boys gawked at her as if she had just lopped off her own head.

"Can I just say how  _terrible_  of a plan that is?" Stiles commented, eyes wide.

"He's right!" Scott added, panic rising in his voice again. "You can't just wander off by yourself! You don't know what's out there!"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do  _you_?"

Scott paused for a second before answering. "Well…okay, no. But…"

"Exactly," she cut in, swerving around the two and walking off. "If you think of something or need help, call that number. I'll call you if I run into trouble. Don't call for any other reason."

"Yeah, because I was actually gonna call you just talk about my day," Stiles responded with an eye roll. She didn't answer but instead kept walking. "Maddie!" Stiles shouted, exasperated.

There was something about that which made her stop for a moment.  _Déjà vu?_  She shook it off and looked back at the two boys. "No. You two go. Figure something out. We can cover more ground this way." She gripped the strap of her messenger bag tightly and headed down the hall. "And _don't_ follow me!"

Scott and Stiles exchanged a worried looked as the girl disappeared down a corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! So thank you all for so many kudos! Didn't think this story would be liked so much to be honest! Anyway, to explain on Maddie's less than thought out decision to leave:
> 
> This is Maddie's first mission on her own. So if you notice a lack of common sense on decisions, she's really going on the fly - which is not her strong suit. Of course, there are consequences for this.
> 
> So, next up, more fun times with the Alpha! Well, not fun for our heroes, but you know what I mean.


	6. Fight or Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shock. Fear. Malice. "...because that's the only way you'll get to them."

An Alpha.

An Alpha werewolf on her first day. Oh, but not just any alpha, an alpha that looked like it stepped directly out of a monster movie. Sure, Madeline was told that they could be of any shape or size but she hadn't particularly expected an wolf that looked like  _that_. It'd been a few minutes since she left the boys and as soon as she felt she was far enough away, she had pulled out a compact crossbow. As she loaded a bolt, she began walking softly and swiftly down the empty corridor, accompanied by nothing but the silence. It was strange; she was sure by that point she could have been able to hear something. She'd headed the right way, didn't she? The slayer stopped in her tracks, pressing close to the lockers that lined the hallway as she listened.

Nothing. The corners of her lips tugged downward in a small frown.

She nearly moved to walk forward again when a noise finally caught her attention. Footsteps? No. It was a clicking – several tiny clicks over and over again.  _Almost like…_  Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. It sounded almost like paws on the linoleum tiles. As the clicks grew louder, something else joined it – heavy breathing. Maddie's index finger twitched slightly on the trigger of the crossbow.

The sounds were now loud enough for the creature to be right around the corner when the clicking on the tiles stopped altogether. It was sniffing; she heard it. It would find her if she didn't move, if she didn't do something. Steeling herself, she quickly turned the corner and pointed her weapon straight ahead.

Again, nothing.

The hall in front of her was vacant, like all the others. It had vanished – or perhaps it hadn't been there at all.  _No. No, I heard it!_  She spun around, her weapon at the ready but still she found nothing. It hadn't passed by; she would've seen it. The only logical answer left her frozen where she stood in fear. It knew she had been there. Doing her best to ward off the uneasy feeling in her stomach, she lowered her weapon back to her side and continued on in silence.

Maddie had only started walking again when she heard something that made her go slightly paler than seeing the wolf; she heard a voice.

"Scott?!"

It wasn't just any voice either; it was a voice she'd been hearing for a decent chunk of the day. She took a deep breath and put away her crossbow, running in the direction of the voice as quickly as she could. She bounded around another corner and withheld a groan as she was met with the sight of the somewhat familiar brunette. "Allison?!"

Allison turned in Maddie's direction with an equally shocked expression on her face. "Maddie! What are you doing here? Were you the one who left the door open?" Panic rose in her voice as she spoke and tightly clutched her phone in her hand. "Have you seen Scott?"

"Hold on! One question at a time," Maddie said, using a harsher voice than she had speaking to the girl earlier. This was made clear when Allison looked slightly taken aback but the slayer had already had enough of that day and held nothing back. "I was in the area and heard a noise. No, I didn't leave the door open. And yeah, he's here too – but you shouldn't be."

"What? What do you mean?" Allison asked, her eyes wide with confusion. "What's going on? Is this about the text? I don't – "

"Allison!" Maddie shouted, sending the girl a hardened gaze. "It's not safe here! You need to get out! Now!"

The youngest Argent opened her mouth to speak, shock etched in her features. "…I just…please, Maddie…I need to know what's happening. Where is Scott?"

That look on the girl's face – she knew that look. It was the same look on every face of every person she had watched her mentor save. It was the look she'd had on her face the day she saw her first monster – the look of a frightened child. Maddie's dark eyes softened slightly and she glanced down at the floor. "I don't know." The words spilled from her mouth before she knew she was saying them. Her stare found Allison's again. There was no way this girl would leave without her boyfriend and there was no way Madeline would let her wander off on her own. She swallowed despite the lump in her throat. "Sorry I snapped. I'm just…freaked out. Um, we should just…find Scott and get out of here, okay?"

Allison's stare was still unsure and even a bit afraid but she gave a shaky nod all the same.

* * *

The night continued to drag on as they walked around the school quietly aside from the random shouts for Scott. Madeline was aware that she probably ruined her good first impression with the Allison in one fell swoop. How in the hell did anyone expect slayers to attend school? It was no wonder Miss Summers never brought up her own high school experience – although Maddie would be sure to try and ask again after this mess. If nothing else, it'd probably make her feel better. She walked slightly ahead of taller girl, her insides contorting uncomfortably at the prospect of anything popping out at them. As long as she was there though, she was ready to take the brunt of any attack.

As they entered another room, they both clearly noted the pools on either side of them as they walked. Madeline especially noted them as she nearly fell into one as Allison's phone began going off. The petite slayer gathered herself again and stopped as the other girl answered the device. "Hey…we can't seem to find them."

Maddie glanced around the room, keeping her guard up.

"Oh, um…I ran into Maddie," Allison continued, giving the shorter girl an unsure look. "The girl from earlier? She sat with us at lunch."

The slayer noted the sigh after that. It must've been her friend that looked almost offended when she sat with them – the girl that she couldn't remember the name of _. I gotta get better with these names._

"Okay, give me a second, I'll be right there." She hung up and sighed, stuffing her phone back in her pocket.

"Everything good?" Maddie asked, although her tone didn't hold all that much sincerity.

Allison nodded slightly. "Yeah, but, um…I need to meet back up with Lydia and Jackson. I don't think Scott's here anymore."

_He's got to be here. Unless he's that stupid_. Regardless, Madeline was aware that it was generally a better idea to get Allison out of harm's way. "Yeah, okay. Lead the way."

"Actually – " Allison began but was cut off by her phone again. Her eyebrows furrowed as she pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. She tapped the screen and raised it to her ear. "Stiles?"

_Damn it._ She absentmindedly adjusted the strap of her messenger bag.

"I'm in the school looking for you, why weren't you at my place?" the girl beside her said, an edge in her voice and understandably so. Of course, Maddie had thought she made it fairly clear that this was not the time or the place.

_Clearly not._

"On the first floor. I found – "

Maddie gave Allison a look, noticing the unease on the girl's face. Her alertness seemed to go up quite a bit which allowed panic to seep back into the slayer's head.

"The swimming pools," was the young Argent's short response. Another second or two passed before she spoke again. "Okay, okay, we're coming."

She hung up the phone, eyes holding a sense of urgency. "The lobby."

Without another word, Allison began running out of the room, leaving Madeline to grumble under her breath and catch up.

* * *

Maddie had forgotten how tough it was to match her pace to someone who wasn't as fast as her, but the last thing she needed was for someone to see her do anything out of the ordinary – least of all, Allison. It took them longer than it could've but in a matter of minutes, they were slamming through the doors to the lobby, finding Scott and Stiles across from them. Scott rushed over to Allison immediately. "Why did you come? What are you doing here?"

"Because you asked me to," Allison said, giving him a confused look.

Scott's eyebrows knitted together, his expression very nearly matching his girlfriend's. "I asked you to?"

Allison pulled out her cellphone and tapped on it to bring it back to life, turning it to face Scott. "Why do I get the feeling you didn't send me this message?" came Allison's shaky reply.

Scott, on the other hand, wore a worried look. "Because I didn't."

"Did you drive here?" Stiles spoke up, calling everyone's attention.

"Jackson did," Allison said.

The panic on Scott's face seemed to increase. "Jackson's here too?!"

"And Lydia! What's going on?!" Allison seemed to be talking to the whole room at that point as she looked at the three who seemed to know much more than they were letting on. In that instant, her phone rung and she immediately answered. "Where are you?"

In what seemed like less than a second later, the other girl from earlier that day and a boy Maddie didn't seem to recognize burst into the room.

_Oh, god damn it._  Maddie counted each person in the room and suddenly had the urge to yell at all of them. How in the world was anyone supposed to have a secret identity around here? She held her tongue though, not wanting another outburst like she had with Allison.

"Finally," Lydia breathed. She looked up at Allison. "Can we go now?"

Allison nodded but no one had even a moment to move before the ceiling began groaning as if something very heavy was walking just above all of their heads. Everyone looked up at once and paused for a second or so. Scott then muttered, "Run."

The five of them ran, all but Maddie who made motion to run but instead turned around and took a few steps back as the ceiling collapsed in front of her. The wolf stood, towering over her and she took a breath, balling her fists as she took a defensive stance.

As the five started running, Stiles took a glance back at the beast to find the strangest thing. He looked horrified as he ran, watching such a tiny girl stand as if she were about to actually  _fight_  the alpha werewolf. Before he could see anything else, the group turned a corner.

The inhuman noise the Alpha made at the sight of the girl sounded almost like a laugh.

"You think this is so funny, do something," Maddie said quietly through her clenched jaw, eyes dark as she glared at the creature. She dropped her bag, knowing she'd lose her chance if she stopped to dig out a weapon. "Because that's the  _only_  way you'll get to them."

It growled before letting out a deafening roar and swinging his arm towards her. Even through her nerves, she managed to grab the Alpha's arm that had painfully hit her side. She locked the massive clawed hand between her own arm and her side, not allowing him to move her from her position. Digging its claws further into her side, it looked down at its arm and back up to Maddie's face which now wore the most sadistic of grins. With every ounce of strength in her body, she heaved her entire body weight shoulder first into the caught off guard werewolf and tackled it through the lobby doors that exploded into splinters of wood.

As she laid there for that short moment, she took notice of how terribly the open wound on her side stung and her shoulder felt like several tiny pins had been shoved into the bone. Madeline kipped up rather unsteadily, catching her breath and stumbling backwards as she grabbed her shoulder and rolling it painfully. Her side still hurt as she choked out a breath. Looking up, she noticed the only slightly dazed wolf beginning to stand again. Horrified and clearly hurt, she backed up as she grabbed her bag from the floor and finally ran.

_Follow their voices. There's five of them. One's bound to say something!_

Her breathing was ragged as she quickened her pace and turned a corner, finding the group of teenagers headed straight for the double doors of the cafeteria. Willing herself to move just a bit faster, she found herself a few paces behind them as they went through the doors. Almost immediately, Allison, Scott, Lydia, and who Maddie presumed was Jackson began rushing to barricade the doors with anything in sight. The slayer took a moment to catch her breath, doubling over and placing a hand on her knee. In that moment though, she felts someone's eyes on her. She looked up to find Stiles several feet away, looking like he'd just seen a ghost. She glared at him. "What?!"

Whatever the boy had been thinking, he seemed to snap out of it.

There seemed to be quite of bit of commotion in the room as four of the six people there were still building a wall of chairs and tables.  _Do they really think that'll keep it out?_ Maddie thought miserably, seething over the fact the most she did barely hurt the monster.

Voices sounded off in the room in a mixture of fear, anger, and annoyance. The last one was of course because Stiles seemed to be trying to tell the room something. Everyone, including Madeline seemed to tune him out until he yelled, "HELLO!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and even Maddie managed to stand up straight.

"Okay, nice work. Really beautiful job, everyone," he started, his tone already exasperated. "Now what should we do about the twenty foot wall of windows?"

He gestured to the windows dramatically and everyone by the doors seemed to stop and look at each other.

"Can somebody please explain to me what's going on because I'm freaking out here and I would like to know why!" Allison began abruptly, still catching her breath as she turned to her boyfriend. "Scott?"

Suddenly, everything Maddie had told HQ in her voicemail seemed to be null and void. This girl had no idea. There was a fear in her voice that absolutely no one could fake.  _In fact, the people who seem to be panicking the least are…_  She slowly turned to Scott and Stiles. Scott had walked away from his girlfriend without saying a word.

Stiles looked toward the group. "Somebody killed the janitor."

The remaining color in Maddie's face drained in that instant. Lydia seemed to be the first to speak up. "What?"

He walked over to the group. "Yeah, the janitor's dead."

A nervous, disbelieving laugh passed Allison's lips as she turned to Scott. "What's he talking about? Is this a joke?"

Madeline, listening closely as the group continued to speak, back into the far reaches of the cafeteria. Discretely, she set her bag on the floor and lifted up the side of her torn shirt to check her side. To no surprise, she found five deep claw marks already starting to clot. She sighed and tugged her shirt back down.

"It was Derek!" That's what she heard Scott say.  _Derek? Who in the hell was Derek?_  Whoever it was, everyone else in the room seemed to recognize the name.

The last thing she remembered hearing was the distinct sound of someone being punched before she decided this was the best time to fix her shoulder issue. She struggled to roll her shoulder again as pain jolted to the spot _. Great. Dislocated._  She grabbed her shoulder tightly with her opposite hand and shrugged into it with all the force she could muster. The girl let out a short and quiet cry as the bone popped back into place. It was enough to turn everyone's attention to her for a moment.

"Maddie?" one of them asked. Scott.

Madeline turned to them and hugged her coat closer to her to cover the shredded side of her shirt and the bloody wound under it. "Hm?"

Three of them gave her a strange look – but Scott and Stiles seemed to have different reactions. Scott looked confused, as if he'd just found something that didn't make any sense whereas Stiles looked mildly suspicious of her as he stood there on the phone, speaking quietly.

"You okay?" Scott asked.

She nodded slightly. "Uh, yeah. I think I just hit my shoulder in the doorway when we came in."

Before anyone else could say anything, the door moved. Something was furiously pounding against it, causing everyone to begin back away from it.

"We're at the school. Dad, we're at the school," Stiles repeated before hanging up his phone. The pressure on the door continued to get worse as more screws came loose and chair began to fall. "The kitchen. The door out of the kitchen next to the stairwell."

"Which only goes up!" Scott yelled as he held Allison close.

Stiles shrugged. "Up is better than here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've had this done for a few days now and I've been working all this week without a day off. You'll probably see the next chapter on Sunday because of that reason. Scott and Stiles are getting pretty suspicious. That could be a world of not good for Maddie if she's not more careful.


	7. Honest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions. Pain. Lost items. "People who are fine typically don't do that."

_These people are idiots._

This, of course, was something Madeline was now sure of. Sure, maybe not book-wise, as she was now at the front of the Chemistry classroom watching the pretty, popular girl make – what did she say? A self-igniting Molotov Cocktail? That in itself was a fairly incredible feat. Scott had decided to go get the janitor's keys so they could make a hasty escape. No, no, this group almost was working like a well-oiled machine – granted it was a well-oiled machine that clearly lacked common sense and happened to be in a constant state of denial. She vaguely wondered the damage these teens could do if they actually knew all the horrible realities of the town they lived in. That, in itself, was a frightening thought. She shook her head and leaned against the chalkboard.

Several feet away, in the far reaches of Scott's mind, a new form stress loomed over him.

" _Blood? Like…_ _ **fresh**_ _blood?"_

" _Yeah! I smelled it back in the cafeteria."_

" _And you're_ _ **sure**_ _it was blood?"_

" _Yes, Stiles! I know what blood smells like and that was it!" He sighed. "…And it was coming from her."_

" _You think **that's**  weird? I see that and raise you her staying behind, looking like she about to fight the freaking Alpha – and not being _ _ **dead**_ _!"_

As soon as he and Stiles had been out of earshot, that's basically all they had time to say to each other on the topic. It was worrisome to say the least, on top of the massive issues they were currently dealing with.  _Maybe it just hurt her and moved on_ … he thought, trying to ease his stress as he waited for Lydia to finish up.  _No_. No, that wouldn't make any sense either. She kept up with them. Sure, she was the last to enter the room but if she did face down the Alpha and not only lived to tell the tale but also somehow caught up to them, she'd be some kind of super human. Scott eyed the girl briefly.  _Or not human at all._

He subtly sniffed the air *****. She didn't smell like a wolf at least. Although there was a bit of distance between them and he was still pretty new to this. He could be wrong. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind once more and moved on to the matter at hand. They had to survive first; he and Stiles could figure the rest out later.

Lydia gently mixed the components and plugged the beaker with a cork, handing it off to Scott. Madeline stared at the mixture, uncertainty written all over her face. "You shouldn't go out there," she said, her voice stern and having a certain level of authority behind it.

"She's right, this is insane," Allison spoke up, pain plaguing her gaze as she looked at her boyfriend. "You can't do this. You cannot go out there."

"We can't just wait here for Stiles to have to check his messages," Scott argued, mirroring her stare.

Allison looked utterly horrified as she listened to his resolve. "You could  _die_. Don't you get that? He's killed three people."

"And we're next. Somebody has to do something." Scott backed away from the desk and towards the door.

It was almost painful watching the two. Madeline had forgotten this part; then again, she hadn't seen it for nearly a decade so it was marginally understandable. Death was a constant in her life and each time a team member left – each time a  _slayer_  left – they did so as if it was no big deal.  _Just another night on the job._  Now and then, some didn't come back, but it was expected. They grew up knowing the deal and pretending to accept it. They were chosen, they fight, they die and that's all there was to it. Now, seeing this average boy possibly – more than likely – kiss his girlfriend for the last time and prepare to face impossible odds was hard to wrap her mind around. As Scott went to the door again, leaving Allison behind, the slayer decided to speak once again. "If you're going out there, you should at least not go by yourself."

"And who's gonna go with him?" Jackson let out a short, mocking laugh. "You?"

"Well, it obviously won't be you," Maddie said with a shrug, not so much trying to attack him but feeling the need to point out the obvious. "You've looked more scared than anyone else here."

"Maddie!" Allison chastised, her voice cracking and tears still staining her cheeks as she did so.

The slayer blinked and her brows furrowed. "What?"

"Just…stay here," Scott mumbled before putting a bit more emphasis in his tone, looking at Madeline. "All of you." He turned away from everyone in the room, opened the door, and in mere seconds, he was gone.

* * *

Minutes ticked away at a ridiculously slow pace – that's at least how it felt. The petite slayer paced back and forth, a mixture of unpleasant emotions coursing through her. Anger was the most prominent – mostly at Scott for being such an idiot. There was some annoyance at the remaining group because their talking wouldn't give her a moment's peace. Then there was one tricky emotion she hadn't experienced in quite some time – helplessness. She'd already tried to leave twice but was stopped by Stiles both times. Each time, the look he gave her seemed more narrowed and suspicious. The feeling was mutual though; she didn't trust either Scott or Stiles considering the amount of lies she heard them giving the other three teenagers. She knew they saw the same thing out of that window earlier that night – but then why lie and say it was a person? They had to at least know it looked like an animal. She vaguely wondered if they had been expecting her to catch them in their lie and tell the group she'd seen a wolf.

Alas, she hadn't. The less people who knew, the better.

Of course, that in itself called something else into question – exactly how much did Scott and Stiles know?

Suddenly, the room reverberated with an ear-piercing howl so loud that she covered her ears. What was even more terrifying was when Jackson collapsed to the floor, writhing and screaming in pain. Maddie rejoined the group, wondering what was happening. As the rest of them helped the boy up, they heard him mutter, "No, I'm fine."

As he stood and jerked away from them, he quickly and much more firmly answered, "Like seriously, I'm okay."

"That didn't sound okay at all," Allison added worriedly.

Then Stiles reached over to Jackson, looking at something with piqued interest. "What's on the back of your neck?"

He swatted Stiles' hand away, glaring at him. "I said I'm fine."

"It's been there for days. He won't tell me what happened," Lydia said to the rest of them, throwing Jackson an accusatory stare.

Jackson's bright blue eyes blazed in anger as he glared at his girlfriend. "As if you actually  _care_."

It seemed to be Maddie's turn to narrow her eyes on someone – Jackson to be specific. It seemed she was not the only one in severe pain much to her own suspicion. The slayer achingly rolled her shoulder again and ignored the various sharp pains in her side as she began circling the group before stopping behind the jock.  _No one is that stupid._  The girl let out an exasperated sigh as she quickly and without reservation poked one of the purplish-red marks. At least, it was only a poke to her whereas Jackson felt as if the girl had stabbed the back of his neck. He let out a yelp of sheer agony and nearly fell to his knees. He backed away from Maddie and glared at her, his face red enough to see even in the dark. Madeline raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "People who are fine typically don't do that." Her voice was so plain and ingenuous as she said it that people might've mistaken it as a witty retort.

The reactions from the other three students slightly surprised her. There was Allison who looked completely appalled; Stiles looked begrudgingly impressed – or maybe just happy to see Jackson in pain; and last was Lydia who gave a pleased smile to Maddie and a condescending shrug to Jackson.

Stiles, in a flimsy attempt to ease the tension, stepped in between the infuriated Jackson and a considerably impatient Maddie. "Alright, can we not argue for half a second here?"

"Where's Scott?" Allison muttered more to herself than the rest of the teenagers. Her voice had become more fragile and even a bit shaky this time around. "He should be back by now." It felt like not even half a heartbeat had thumped in Maddie's chest when they all heard a small crack on the other side of the door. Allison was the first to head towards it. "Scott?"

Maddie's near-black stare followed the girl when she saw the oddest thing – someone was on the other side of the door. A person clearly, certainly not an Alpha werewolf – that wasn't the odd part though. The odd part was that they simply stood there on the other side of the door for several long seconds. As Allison shouted louder and louder for Scott, Madeline noticed she'd started twisted the door handle and pulling at the door with all of her strength. Someone – maybe Scott,  _probably_  Scott – had locked them in for some unknown reason. It was almost as painful to watch as the two parting. Maddie thought for a moment, contemplating kicking open the door – something she could do easily but would call more things about her to question.

Still, she almost gave in when –

"Stop…Stop!" Lydia spoke over her friend's cries. Her hearing seemed to be focused on something else entirely. "Do you hear that? Listen."

The room grew quiet as a distinct sound was heard by all of them in the distance. Relief flooded Maddie almost immediately. "Sirens," she mumbled to herself quietly.

The expressions of relief spread to the rest of them quickly as they all had the same idea and ran over to the windows. Flashing red and blue lights stretched throughout the entirety of the parking lot.

* * *

Madeline couldn't wrap her brain around any of this.

She fought – or at least attempted to fight – an Alpha werewolf her first night in Beacon Hills.

She ruined Allison's first impression of her in less than an hour.

They all made it out of the school alive and in one piece.

And she  _still_  had homework to do.

 _Least of my worries, I suppose,_  she thought miserably as she made the long walk over to Allison who now had a mixture of tears and runny mascara sliding down her cheeks in rapid succession. She'd just walked away from Scott, who looked utterly confused and distraught – almost as if the air had just been knocked out of him. Maddie slowed her pace as Allison turned to her with a look the slayer didn't recognize in the slightest. She sniffled and tried to regain her composure. "Hi."

Maddie nodded in return. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out; the apology she'd resolved to give the girl had gotten lodged in her throat. She wasn't really sorry, to honest – or maybe she was but she couldn't quite see why. Apologizing without knowing why seemed hollow. To be honest with herself though, what else could anyone who had told so many lies already be but hollow?

"Sorry," they both choked out at once.

Allison, through her tears, gave a small and embarrassed laugh. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of Maddie's mouth.

"No, really," the taller brunette began, shuffling a bit in her spot. She looked down for a moment at her scuffed shoes before glancing back up at the shorter girl. "God, I am so, so sorry. I get that you were trying to help."

"I yelled at you," Maddie blurted out, although she had been aiming for something much more sincere.

Allison sighed and nodded. "I know. You yelled at me to leave and you were right. I should've." Her eyes went back to a slumped over Scott in the distance. "…I was stupid for staying."

"Kind of," the slayer said with a shrug. Off of Allison's surprised glance, Maddie's eyes widened. "Wow, um - that…didn't come out right."

After a long moment, another small laugh came from the young Argent. "No, no. You said what you meant." Allison curiously stared at the girl, analyzing her for a second. "You do that a lot, don't you?"

 _You said what you meant._  That was one of the last things her Watcher had told her – and it certainly hadn't been the first time. It seemed to be a very telling statement about the girl. A heavy sigh escaped her and she looked down at the dead leaves on the ground. "Yeah."

"It's not bad," Allison replied quickly, attempting her very best reassuring smile as a shocked Madeline looked up. "It's… _honest_." The fairer girl's eyes flicked over to the boy it still hurt to look at and Maddie could almost see the light leaving her eyes. "I could use a little bit of honest right about now."

It felt as if a knife had been twisted in Maddie's stomach – a feeling she actually knew and did not take lightly. Although, this knife was made completely of guilt which may have been worse altogether. She forced a smile, feeling particularly  _dishonest_. "Sure, yeah. I can do that."

They'd been so engrossed in their conversation, neither seemed to notice the figure looming over Maddie until Allison made a point to look up. "Dad!" She rushed past Madeline and flung her arms around her father who hugged her tightly back. They quietly exchanged some words, mostly in relief – although some from the older man seemed more scolding.

"You're sure…?"

"Yeah, Dad." Her words were soft and with much more relief laced in them. "…didn't let me wander off on my own. Told me to leave. I'm so sorry. I should've listened! I…I was so scared!" Her voice cracked again. Her father hugged her tightly again. Maddie finally turned to see the two embracing. The older Argent opened his eyes and looked at the slayer. An odd lump of nerves set in; would she be fired? Be sent back to HQ for more training? She rung her stretched out sleeve in her hands.

That's when it happened, in that tiny, silent moment.

Chris Argent's eyes weren't as emotionless and suspicious as before. There was a small twinge of something in them and Maddie recognized it almost instinctively. She'd seen it so many time on so many faces but they were never looking at her. They were looking at her leader, her general. It was the look so many innocents gave to Buffy.

It was… _gratitude_.

He gave a slight nod then, which Madeline returned through her own shock. The hunter loosened his grip on his daughter as he looked down at her. "Seems like your new friend has a good head on her shoulders. Maybe you should listen to her next time."

Allison nodded quietly and turned to Maddie with her own grateful, half-hearted smile.

"In fact, to show how grateful we are," Chris began with his own false smile, "How about we invite her over for dinner?"

Both girls gave him a strange, disbelieving look. Allison looked back at Maddie with a wide-eyed stare, then back to her father. "I…I mean, I guess so." She glanced over at the slayer once more. "If that's okay with you."

"Huh?" Madeline seemed more shocked in that moment than the entire time she'd spent in the school that night. "Oh, er, yeah! Sure."

"Good," Chris said, although his tone didn't reflect it. "Saturday night, then."

"Yeah," Maddie replied distantly as something caught her eye. In the distance, she noticed a stern-looking Sheriff looking over at her and waving her over. "Saturday. Right. Sorry, will you excuse me?" With that she made a hasty exit from the Argents and strode towards the man. "Hi, um, did you need me for something?"

"Madeline Hayes?" the Sheriff asked. She nodded. "Your mother has been called. We filled her in on the current situation." He exhaled an exhausted breath. "Since she's out of town, she asked for you to be escorted home…"  _…my mother?_  She thought in shock, wondering who had answered. "…but it looks like the address given was the Motel 6 off of 3rd and Welsh."

"Yeah!" she said instantly. "We moved here a little early and the house isn't done. My parents are finishing up getting our stuff from the old house. Today was my first day here, actually."

The lies rolled off of her tongue much easier each time she had to give them. Each time, her nerves got to her less and less. The Sheriff took a moment to analyze her before nodding. "That's just about what they said too. Alright, I'll take you over there. I gotta drop off my miscreant anyway."

He nodded over to Stiles in which Maddie raised an eyebrow at the boy. Stiles seemed to hear all of this and gave his father an almost painful look.

What seemed like an eternity later, Maddie got into the passenger side seat of the police car. The reasoning behind this seemed to be "the frightened teenage girl is allowed to call shotgun as she doesn't have a history of trouble following her". Stiles groaned and got in the back of the wagon, knowing full well that the girl in front of him seemed to be the least frightened of all of them that night.

All the while, Sheriff Stilinski – as she learned his last name was – attempted to calm Maddie's nonexistent nerves. If anything, she was more confident than ever. Sure, her shoulder and side hurt like hell but she made it through the night. Allison didn't hate her and not only did she take the Alpha off its feet, she  _lived_. The slayer withheld the smile that threatened to spread across her face.

"Did you need something to eat before we drop you off?"

"No…no, I'm fine. Really." That good feeling, unfortunately, came crashing down around her as she reached for her bag. Her bag.  _Oh no. My bag._  The color drained from her face. She'd set down her bag in the cafeteria. "My bag!" Her head snapped over to the Sheriff, her eyes wide with horror. "I left my bag in the school!"

Sheriff Stilinski seemed placid as ever, not taking his eyes off the road. Although, Stiles hearing seemed to perk up. "We'll be searching the building tonight, top to bottom. I'll make sure we get your bag to you."

"No, but –" she started, her thoughts rushing around her in blurs. "I – I need it tonight! We have to go back! My…my wallet! And my homework! And…"

"Calm down, it's okay." The Sheriff glanced at her worriedly for less than a second as he stopped at a red light. "You're stuff will be fine. I promise."

"But…but…!" Alas, she couldn't form any good excuse. Her heart was beating rapidly at the prospect of the Sheriff's department searching her bag. Gods, she was beginning to hyperventilate. "…but…"

"Yeah, Mads!" Stiles chimed in, using a nickname reserved for only Maddie's closest confidantes. She turned her head slowly and threw at him the most menacing glare she could. Stiles seemed unusually used to this type of reaction and continued with a smug grin. "They'll get that to you, ASAP! It's not like you have something to be worried about, right?"

The look in the boy's eyes told Madeline that he knew something – or was at least suspecting something. Her darkened stare drilled into his as she took an even breath in and out. "…Right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! The end of "Night School"! Sorry, that whole thing took forever. Also, sorry this took so long. I had Maid of Honor wedding stuff to do all week. That's over though and now I'm back and ready to introduce Maddie to the rest of the Argents! Then...what will happen in "Lunatic"? This is going to be horrible. XD
> 
> * = I think we're all aware that the only person who thinks Scott can subtly sniff for anything at this point in the show is Scott.


	8. Den of Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training. Texting. Subtle snark. "Did you really just say 'my people'?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Heyo! Sorry it's been a bit but this chapter was so hard to get through. Luckily I'm already a good portion into chapter eight, so fear not! Action will return! Now, hey, look! A flashback!

 

_There were plenty of things thirteen year old Madeline Hayes hated about being a slayer. For one, there was headquarters, which was pretty much like Hogwarts in way – if Hogwarts replaced magic wands with stakes, boys with even more girls, and fun with strength, reflex, and strategy training. At least they spent a few years in a castle in Scotland; that was really where the similarities ended._

" _You know, there's this saying…"_

_The second thing was the extremely inaccurate thought that there were ranks among the slayers – something that had been perpetuated by Kennedy, one of the older girls. There were no actual ranks. There were slayers and watchers. Sure, the slayers outnumbered the watchers by quite a bit. Hundreds for each one watcher in the early days. There was no way to keep up so some of the more experienced slayers began training. That didn't make them better than the others, though._

"… _by, I don't know, some old smart guy."_

_Third were the girls. There were too many of them. They giggled, they gossiped, they even pulled hair sometimes. And, as most would imagine, there were no such thing as cat fights among slayers. Slayers had a tendency to do real harm when they didn't like each other. Black eyes, broken ribs, shattered jaws, bruises by the dozens – these were regular occurrences and none of which Maddie had escaped with the mouth she had on her._

" _Know when to walk away and know when to run…"_

" _Buff, that's Kenny Rogers."_

" _The chicken guy?"_

" _No, that's Roy Rogers. Kenny Rogers was a country singer. You quoted a country song. About poker."_

_Last was the woman herself, Buffy Summers. Buffy was one part former homecoming queen and two parts war general. Maddie couldn't pinpoint which part she liked less. Perhaps she couldn't remember the woman who cheered her up when she cried in her bunk, knowing she'd never see her mother or father again. Perhaps that woman was gone. As they took in more slayers for training, Buffy grew more and more distant from all of them. Now, all she ever did was talk to Xander, Willow, or Dawn. If she did address a younger slayer, it was in training and in usually wasn't very nice. Maddie used to make excuses for her to the other slayers but she'd run out a long time ago. Now, she wore her abrasive personality like armor whenever the woman showed her face – which wasn't very often._

_Today, she was around. Today would not be pleasant. Maddie frowned at the blonde while folding her half-raised hands together in front of her and rolling her wrists. The woman was the only person she knew that she could meet at eye level, as everyone else was significantly taller, not that it mattered. Buffy hardly ever really looked her in the eye these days anyway._

" _Oh. Well, either way, it's good advice. That will be your lesson today – the difference between walking away to regroup or running because you've given up." Buffy threw a stake to the preteen girl as a few other girls watched in silence. The older slayer looked at Maddie, but not really. Buffy's worn, green eyes looked right through the young girl, as they always did with all of the girls. "We take breathers and we regroup. There's nothing wrong with that. But we do not run. We do not give up."_

_Buffy led Xander and the rest of the girls out of the room, leaving Maddie alone as a growl sounded behind her._

* * *

Maddie woke up Saturday morning tense and sore. It wasn't because of the earlier that week and her wounds. No, they had healed up nicely; there were hardly any marks left. No, she woke up sore because she had trained for the first time in days. As there was neither hide nor hair of a vampire yet, she used her patrolling time to train in the woods. She was used to training so much more often than that and it was beginning to bother her. Clearly even going a little while without it and pushing herself too hard to make up for it was not the best course of action. She liked it though; it was the one time she didn't have to think about her mission, her missing bag, or her sinking feeling over the suspicious residents of Beacon Hills. She frowned, thinking of her missing bag again. She'd sprinted back to the school the moment she'd been dropped off. It was gone –  _really_  gone. She grimaced and shook the thought from her head.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to think of missing bags and training as she found herself walking down a friendly-looking neighborhood full of big, bright houses lining both sides of the street. It took more effort than she intended of course, as by Friday morning she found herself without a street address for Allison's house or a way to contact her. This would've been the perfect time for school not to be cancelled. This led to one and only one solution.

_Allison's number, what is it?_   **[Fri 5:02 PM]**

_**Stiles:** _ _first off, hi is a good way to start a conversation. second, no._ **[Fri 5:06 PM]**

_No? What do you mean no? I need the number_ _**.** _ **[Fri 5:07 PM]**

_**Stiles:** _ _sorry but I don't give out my friend's info or my friend's ex gf's info to people I don't trust. so no. also I'm not actually sorry._ **[Fri 5:16 PM]**

_I don't have time for this._   **[Fri 5:17 PM]**

_Stiles?_   **[Fri 5:42 PM]**

_Are you kidding me?_   **[Fri 6:34 PM]**

_You're the only person I know who can help me._   **[Fri 6:35 PM]**

_I know like…5 people here_ _**.** _ **[Fri 6:35 PM]**

_I'm really new here. I wouldn't do this if I didn't absolutely NEED to._   **[Fri 6:36 PM]**

_This is the only number I have!_   **[Fri 6:36 PM]**

_I won't stop texting you._   **[Fri 6:37 PM]**

_At all. I'll keep going._ **[Fri 6:38 PM]**

_I'm serious. I need you're help, damn it!_   **[Fri 6:39 PM]**

_Do you have unlimited texting?_   **[Fri 6:39 PM]**

_Because I just found out I do._ **[Fri 6:39 PM]**

She was less than pleased that she'd sunken to such a desperate level but let it go almost immediately, as a text popped up simply giving a phone number. Nothing else, not another grating, sarcastic word – which was good, because her other option involved using her fists and she was sure that'd call unwanted attention. After a few minutes of staring at the number, she'd attempted to use it. To her relief, Allison had answered and after an awkward explanation of how she acquired the number and why, Maddie was given a street address.

Before she knew it, there she stood at the door of a moderately large home, finger twitching as it hovered over the doorbell. This was more than dinner, much more. It was a full evening of scrutinizing eyes and weighted questions. It was an interrogation and an interview all at once. She breathed slowly, evenly. Her finger twitched a little again and closed the gap to the doorbell. It's muffled chime rang in her ears and she waited.

Her nerves were shot. Her stomach was churning painfully.

The door swung open, but it wasn't Allison or her father who stood there before her. It was a woman; her dirty blonde hair hung in waves over her shoulders as her green eyes drilled holes through Maddie. She stood there, unmoving with her arm still blocking the entrance in an outfit that screamed Faith. The woman smiled but it wasn't a forced smile like Allison's father or a kind one like Allison's. It was wide and toothy, less like a smile and more like an animal baring its teeth. Maddie opened her mouth to speak, although it took several moments to find her voice. "…Hi, I'm – "

"Oh, I know who you are, sweetie." The older woman kept the same expression on her face, her tone coated in hostility. She looked back into the house. "Allison! Your friend's here!"

Finally, the unknown woman backed away from the door and gestured for Madeline to come in.

* * *

It was terrifying. There Maddie sat, in between Allison and Kate – the woman from earlier who had not gotten any friendlier in the twenty minutes they been sitting there. It was a shame though; if nothing else, Madeline had been looking forward to the home cooked meal. They were few and far between back at headquarters and even fewer here as she had taken to gaining any sustenance from fast food restaurants. Knowing that, she looked down at her food again and willed herself not to frown as she pushed around the mashed potatoes. The general feeling she got from the tall, red haired woman who made the food and had been staring holes through her was distrust. The feeling was indeed mutual. Maddie couldn't yet tell if the food was laced with poison or they were trying to fatten her up – either way she had the distinct notion that these people – save for Allison – were out to kill her. She'd felt more safe trapped in the school with the Alpha, to be quite honest.

Chris had started the conversation early on with less than subtle and slightly menacing hints, following this with intrusive questioning.

"What do your parents do?" he'd asked. She rambled on through about her mother being a self-defense trainer and her dad being a construction worker; she would certainly have to inform Xander of this.

Kate had thus far been full of nothing but false smiles and much more subtle snark. There was something very off about her and Maddie still felt unsafe simply sitting next to her. She even made sure to not let go of her fork for any reason, just as a precaution.

"Do you always walk around schools at night? Weird habit, don'tcha think?" Kate had asked, taking a sip of her drink that the slayer assumed had alcohol in it. Maddie pushed forward with her explanation, telling them all that she'd been in the area after taking a walk when she heard something 'weird' - glass breaking, to be specific.

Allison seemed to believe this. "I, um, heard that Stiles' battery got thrown through a window."

Maddie had nodded in silent confirmation, not wanting to divulge any more than she had to.

Chris and Victoria – the woman with the short red hair, the scowl, and the piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through Madeline – exchanged a look. Victoria hadn't said a word to Maddie directly; she'd only studied her. This made the slayer even more uneasy than the questioning.

It was as if she was actually in a wolf's den and the irony of that was not lost on her one bit.

Victoria was looking at her again. Maddie frowned, shrinking down a little as she took a bite of her roast beef. Although it did not kill her, it was now cold. She managed a smile as she looked up at Allison's mother. "This is really good."

It couldn't have sounded more forced if she tried. The woman gave a tight-lipped smile. Minutes dragged on and on as Maddie ate much quicker. She was more than ready to get out of there; this had to be the most uncomfortable meal she ever had.

Allison did her best to fill in the silence and Madeline tried to do the same. After all, they were supposed to be  _friends_ , weren't they? They managed a few light, amiable chats and even a laugh here and there. Maddie still didn't get most of the jokes but obliged nonetheless.

Of all of this, it still was not what stuck out the most in the grueling evening she was having. No, it was only when Allison's mother stood and announced she needed help cleaning up that things had gotten much more interesting. Maddie, not subtle in the least, jolted up. "I can help!"

Allison gave her an odd look when she spoke. "You really don't have to do that…"

"It's no problem. It's the least I can do," Maddie replied quickly with a polite smile.

Chris took a drink before gesturing to the young slayer with his own almost patronizing grin to his sister. "See that? A well-mannered teenager. Doesn't happen every day, now does it?"

Allison rolled her eyes as Kate replied, "Teenagers aren't  _supposed_  to be well mannered, Chris. They're  _teenagers_."

Maddie hadn't caught the rest of the conversation as she followed Victoria into the kitchen, both of them with dishes in hand. The door swung closed behind them and the petite teenager gaped at the spacious and pristine room she'd just entered. Of course, the whole house – or at least the rooms she'd been allowed to see – was magnificent to say the least but then again she'd hardly ever lived in places she would ever describe with words like 'spacious' or 'pristine'. She remained distracted as she set the plates and glasses down by the sink which seemed to be a trigger for whatever emotions had been pent up in Victoria for the whole of the night. The older woman darted her alarmingly blue eyes to Maddie, her gaze startling the girl.

"Who do you think you are?" came the woman's low, snarling voice.

This caught Madeline off guard as her own dark eyes widened. As her brows furrowed, she gave herself an extra moment before speaking. "Wait, what?"

"You know very well what I just said." Victoria turned her attention away, sorting the dishes into neat piles of similar pieces. "Now, as I understand it, your organization runs itself. You must be used to not expecting orders by now."

"Okay, hold on –"

"And speaking out of turn," she promptly cut the young girl off, a sharp edge in her tone. Her head shot over to Madeline once more, examining her. Maddie looked down and noted that the woman now had a steak knife wrapped tightly in her hand. "You're superiors must not have thought that it would be responsible and courteous of them to send you straight to us, not our daughter. I understand you and your…people do things on your own terms these days but I will not have you acting without our knowledge again. You are under our employ and I expect you to treat us as such."

Madeline felt her jaw drop as she stared disbelievingly at the older woman. She momentarily looked down at herself, examining the back her hands. Aside from the few scars, she knew there was a very clear difference between her and everyone else in that house. A short, mirthless laugh escaped her as she glanced back up. "I'm sorry – not to make things… _more_  uncomfortable, but did you really just say 'my  _people_ '?"

"Vampire Slayers," Victoria spat out with a prominent frown stretching across her face and narrowing eyes. "Do  _attempt_  to take this seriously."

"Who said I wasn't?" Maddie shrugged.

_**SLAM.**_ Victoria drove the knife down into the wooden cutting board in front of her, causing Madeline to slightly jump. "Then act like it." She turned her entire body in the direction of the slayer. "You listen to me. You are going to leave my house, take each and every one of our orders, and protect Allison. You will utilize every effort to make sure she's safe – and you will not, under  _any_  circumstances, allow her to find out what you are. Do you understand?"

Maddie gave a short, silent nod.

" _Yes or no_ ," the red head added sharply through gritted teeth.

Madeline drew in a shaky breath, watching the woman with a firm stare. Something about her seemed more dangerous now than either of the adults in the dining room – like that of the proud lion she resembled in the picture the slayer had been given. In a house full of human beings, Maddie had never in her life felt more unsafe and she was suddenly sure it would not be the last time. "…yes."


	9. Unveiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Full moon. Gifts. Confrontations. "Oh my god, this is bad!"

The weekend left just as soon as it came and, before she knew it, Madeline found herself in the halls of Beacon Hills High School. The day had hardly even begun when she had been begrudgingly excused from her Chemistry class during their test. Instead, he'd ordered her to sit in the hall outside of the room to read the next chapter in their textbook and take notes – something he assured her that she would indeed be graded for. This would've been a completely uninteresting turn of events if not for the fact that she nearly jumped out of her skin when Scott came bursting out of the room and down the hall, dropping his bag and nearly tripping over her. Stiles - who followed only seconds later - actually did trip over her though, just barely regaining his footing. He quickly looked over at her, revealing the very distraught expression clearly on his face. His eyes widened when he saw her and he looked like he was about to explain – explain  _what_ , she had no idea. Instead he looked forward again, finding his friend's bag. He then ran off in Scott's direction and out of sight - and that was only that  _morning_.

By lunch, in which she ended up sitting with Allison and – of all people – Jackson, listening quietly and nodding when she had to. Jackson somehow managed to be kind and charming while still cutting her out of the conversation whenever she did manage to say something. It was quite the skill. It wasn't that she didn't like him, really – no, wait, it actually was. Something about how he carried himself and spoke to people was unnerving. There was a velvety quality to his voice that made her want to hear more – which is what she assumed other girls in high school were drawn to.  _That or the impossibly high cheekbones._ Either way, that would at least explain the awkward touching with him and Allison. It was uncomfortable to watch, to say the least.  _Like watching a predator stalk its prey._

That wasn't the weirdest part of the day though. The weirdest part began after school after she saw Allison leave with her aunt. It was even after she followed a group of kids down to the lacrosse field. She watched in shock as Scott proceeded to almost immediately kip up after what looked like a fairly bad injury, following this up with taking out the goalie. Now, she had no idea how lacrosse was played – she never had any time to learn any sports, in her defense – but she was sure that was not part of it.

It was a bit odd to say the least, having seen this same person storming out of class and now injuring a fellow student – who, according to the whispering girls in front of her was one of the nicest people in school. Maybe this was about Allison breaking up with him; maybe it was connected to why he'd been in a school at night. Either way, she was beginning to think that this Scott McCall guy needed to be watched closely.

 

* * *

 

Tonight was going to be hell. This was the one single, solitary fact that stood out in Stiles' head. Tonight was going to be pure hell. He found himself packing a long, heavy chain into his black duffel bag that evening while he bitterly talked out loud in his empty house. "…help him with everything! Every freaking little thing! What does he do?..."

He'd been prepared for a lot since discovering his best friend was a werewolf but Scott making out with his crush – with the girl of his dreams – was  _never_  on that list. As he roughly tossed more of the chain into his bag, he tried to erase the image in his head. Although he hadn't actually seen it, his mind continued to wander against his will as he pictured them together and made himself angrier every second. He had to convince himself that it was the moon. This was all happening because of the full moon. Scott – the Scott he knew – would never do this to him. It had to be the moon.  _It has to be._

The doorbell rang then, just as Stiles finished packing his bag. His head shot up and he quickly stood. He knew his dad was working tonight and he wasn't expecting anyone. The pale teenager left his room and made his way downstairs before the doorbell rang once more.  _It could always be Scott._ He sighed and turned the deadbolt before grabbing the doorknob and swinging the door open.

"Hey, Sco…" His voice trailed off and his mouth hung open as he was met with nothing. No one seemed to be around at all as he looked left and right, his heart now thumping quickly in his chest. Silence enveloped the entire block, leaving only the sound of crickets chirping and cars passing off in the distance. The sun was almost completely gone now, making it increasingly hard to see and leaving Stiles with a throttling fear in his chest.

He was about to quickly close the door when he glanced down to find a black bag set on the welcome mat. He looked closer and his breathing hitched in his throat as he grabbed for it. Pulling it up and examining it closely, he closed the door and locked it. This was hers, he  _knew_  it; it was Madeline's bag. It was identical. His eyes were met with a familiar leather bag, which he did not wait to open. He flung open the top flap and unzipped the inside, leaning it in the direction of the light coming from the living room to look further. His eyes widened and he reached a hand in carefully, drawing in a deep breath. The first thing he managed to pull out was the largest of the few items in the bag. It was strange piece of equipment that seemed to have mini hinges on either side and a trigger like a gun. On the sided of the trigger handle was a button that he hesitantly pressed, causing the sides to spring out like wings, showing him that he was holding a small, compact crossbow.

He struggled to put the sides back down before setting it down next to him and extracting another item. This one proved to be almost stranger than the last, as he found a fairly short and thick stick, sharpened at one end. His eyebrows furrowed as he inspected it warily and dropped it next to the crossbow, more strange questions coming to mind. Then, his hand reached in the bag once more, feeling the bottom of it for anything else and his fingers brushing past a piece of paper. He frowned and gingerly picked it up, extracting this last item from the messenger bag. His breath caught in his throat and his mouth fell open again as he laid eyes on it. It wasn't a piece of paper though – well, okay, it was paper but there was a picture printed on the front.

A picture of Allison Argent and her parents.

Before Stiles could process anything else, he stuffed the picture back in the bag followed by the rest of the items. He then grabbed bag itself and rushed upstairs to get his duffel. He needed to talk to Scott about this as soon as possible but first both he and Scott needed to survive the night. They had to survive the full moon.

 

* * *

 

"…No! Not one!" Madeline said in a hushed voice. She leaned idly against a nearby tree as she looked through the bushes she had decided to use as cover. On the other side of them was a parking lot outside the sporting goods store she'd followed Allison to that evening. She'd received a text from an unknown number that afternoon to keep a close eye on the girl and, after a lengthy conversation with her watcher, discovered to her own relief that it was only Allison's dad. The phone was still practically attached to her ear as Xander began to speak.

" **Hey, maybe they heard you were coming."**

She exhaled in frustration. "Through what? The vampire grapevine?"

" **Or, I dunno, facebook."**  There was a pause.  **"You think vampires have facebook pages? Or are they still in the dark ages of pen and paper and landlines?"**

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Mister Harris…"

" **I know, I know, no vampires. You want my honest opinion though?"**

She shrugged as if he could hear it and gruffly muttered, "Sure."

" **Don't worry about it. You're not there to slay vampires, Mads."**

"Then why  _am_  I here? I mean, I'm a  _vampire_  slayer," she snapped, the stress of the week surfacing a bit through her tone.  _These people are werewolf hunters! They don't need my help._

" **Because sometimes there are worse things out there than vampires, trust me on this – and we needed someone we knew could handle the job."**

She wanted to question the 'we' part, but decided against it. Instead she glanced over, back to the SUV Allison and Jackson were sitting in. Regardless of her mission, she didn't feel right sneaking around and spying on people. She was about to say something about it when she noticed something on one of the cars farther away. Something was moving, crouched over on all fours on the vehicle. Madeline's eyebrows furrowed and she squinted to see it better with no luck. "…I have to call you back."

"Wh-" was all she heard before she hung up and moved forward. It wasn't the Alpha; it was much too small to be the Alpha. The outline was much more human but it's stance didn't reflect that.

That was when whatever it was let out a thunderous roar. It started rushing toward the SUV at full speed, causing Maddie to do the same to intercept it. Sharp branches poked and scraped her on her way out of the bushes but she ignored them. The creature jumped on the roof of the car and began lift a clearly clawed hand. Madeline was almost there when another clawed hand shoved her down and a shadowed figure pushed the first out of sight. As if it was hardly more than a gentle breeze, she quickly got up, ignoring the three shredded claw marks on her shirt and ran in their direction.

The two were fighting and the larger one had seemed to get the better of the other. Maddie found herself rushing down the grassy hill, her crossbow tightly in hand. She stopped between the two, shifting the aim of the loaded weapon from one to the other. The dark shrouded the beasts and Madeline found herself focusing her sight to get a good look at either.

The larger of the two bellowed out its own roar in her direction, the blue of its eyes glowing furiously as it took a few steps toward her, slapping the crossbow from her hands. As it fell out of her grasp, Maddie decided against rushing for it again and instead used her now free hand to punch monster across the jaw as hard as she could. It – or rather  _he_ , she noted – stumbled back a few steps before shaking off the shock of the force. He slashed a clawed hand at her which she dodged, only narrowly escaping the damage. She attempted a spinning heel kick, intending to connect with his face again but he also moved out of the way. Missed hit after missed his continued between both of them until the werewolf tackled her into a nearby tree, crushing her ribs. The out of air and in pain, her attempt to block him failed and he grabbed her by the throat. She grabbed his wrist and tried with all of the strength she had left to pry his hand away but her attempts were promptly cut off by a shout.

"Stop!"

Both the creature and Maddie turned to find the other slightly smaller monster rushing over and grabbing the blue eyed one's shoulder. Madeline continued to struggle, intending already to fight both of them again. The wolf didn't listen and instead raised her up a few inches by the throat.

"I said stop!" the voice was much clearer this time, although the petite slayer was feeling dazed as her feet dangled just above the ground. The creature looked to the other with a cold, hard stare for a few extra seconds before releasing her completely. Maddie's body dropped to the ground, coughing as her throat clawed for air. She held her ribs, sure that a few were bruised – if not cracked.

Her vision started to focus again as she pushed herself up a bit, finding a hand offered to her. It wasn't clawed but her senses were still on alert. Her dark eyes drifted up from the hand to the person – or thing – who had offered it. She paled a bit as her stare landed on the familiar face. She stumbled backwards before she unsteadily got to her feet. Her breathing was still heavy and her hand was still clutching her midsection.

The other wolf was still there, shadowed and watching her suspiciously. She eyed him before speaking, her voice hoarse and still out of breath. "…Who…who's your friend, Scott?"

Hostility flooded her tone as they both looked over to the other creature. Scott himself looked a bit beaten up and unsteady on his feet as Madeline eyed him. _Two betas. Unknown if they've taken lives. Capture, don't kill_. Madeline, keeping her sights on the wolves, sidestepped over a few paces away from them and knelt down to grab her crossbow. The blue eyed wolf growled. She looked down at the weapon and then to Scott. "Get out of here. Both of you."

Scott, who looked cautious but concerned, slowly glanced over at the other werewolf who nodded. He hesitantly backed away and eventually out of sight. Madeline watched until she couldn't see them anymore and slumped against a tree, breathing heavily.  _Someone they knew could handle the job? Yeah, right._

 

* * *

 

"Wait,  _what_?!" Stiles nearly shouted before Scott gave him a distressed look. Reminded that he dad was just downstairs, he lowered his voice as he spoke again. "Who was there?!"

"Madeline, the new girl," Scott repeated, panic still seeping into his tone as he kept it hushed. "She had a crossbow and she almost shot Derek!"

Stiles paused. "Now, when you say 'almost'…"

"Stiles!"

"Right, okay. This is bad," Stiles began but as he did, his eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god, this is bad!"

Scott who had been pacing around his friend's room for the better part of ten minutes, nodded in agreement. "Dude, I know. I was there-"

"No! Scott," Stiles started to say as he clumsily shot up off of his bed and fumbled around his closet. He pulled out a bag which Scott only slightly recognized. Stiles threw it to him. "This is  _bad_."

Scott suddenly looked confused as he caught the bag. "What's…"

"It's hers. Maddie's." Stiles scratched the back of his head as he looked at the leather case. "It's the bag she left at the school."

"Wait, did your dad find it?" Scott asked.

Stiles shook his head and his expression turned a bit more worried than before. "There was a knock at the door and all that was there was that bag." He folded his arms and nodded to his friend. "Open it."

Scott's eyebrows furrow and he looked down at the bag, lifting the cover and unzipping it. His eyes widened in shock as he pulled out the compact crossbow and the piece of wood. "…a wooden stake?"

"That's not all," Stiles said, his eyes still on the bag.

Scott set the weapons on the desk and reached in the bag once again. The last thing he pulled out was a photo of Allison and her parents, which made Scott's stomach nearly leap into his throat. He quickly glanced up at his friend and back down at the picture. His thoughts were scattered and he turned over the picture, only to find a note.

"Dude, I don't know. Maybe she's another hunter or…"

"Stiles…did you see this?" Scott managed to say.

Stiles looked up at Scott in confusion, noticing he had the photo turned over. He rushed over to his friend and read over his should. "What? Does it say something…?"

_Alpha - has taken lives, capture and, if necessary, use lethal force._

_Betas - unknown if has taken lives, capture. do not kill._

_Guard the girl. She attends Beacon Hills High School. You'll be doing the same._

_Keep patrolling regiment. No other unexplained deaths have been reported. Better safe than sorry._

_Once the problem is taken care of, report to HQ._

_\- BS_

"What the…" Stiles began looking over at Scott.

Scott shook his head. "I don't know but…I don't think she's a hunter."

"There's no proof otherwise." It was Stiles turn to start pacing. "I mean, maybe there are other hunting families. Maybe they have a super secret headquarters and go undercover or..." He stopped and looked at his best friend whose look was almost incredulous. "Yeah, I don't even believe that much."

"She  _punched_  Derek," Scott replied as if it were a revelation.

Stiles blinked and stared at the other boy. "…okay. I'm guessing that didn't end well."

"No, I mean like…she punched Derek and  _he went down_ ," Scott tried again, his stare wild. "Okay, so it was only a few seconds but she hurt him –  _without_  a weapon. Hunters are human. They can't do that!"

"Well, if she's abnormally strong, here to guard 'the girl' - which I'm guessing is Allison,  _and_  kill the Alpha…" Stiles looked down at the weapons on his desk, focusing on the stake. "…then what the hell is she?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Here's chapter 8! Ugh. This one was tough. Mostly because of the switching POVs.


	10. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories. Clues. Bullies. "But we didn't do anything!"

_"God, stop crying!" a redhead shouted, shoving a little girl into the wall with some force._

_The small child's wails got louder as her head and back hit the stone wall behind her. She held the back of her head, shielding her face with her forearms as she slid down the wall to the ground. Eight. She was only eight. Alone in a foreign country, she found herself at the mercy of those she was told to call her peers. Not all of them were attacking her, though. No, only a handful had begun doing that. The rest? Well, they were simply watching._

_An slightly older girl with a hard face and long, dark hair sneered and kicked the child in the shin sharply. "All week, we've had to listen to your stupid crying -" She roughly grabbed the little girl's forearm. "- and whining." The preteen pried the arm from the girl's face to look her dead in the eye. "You're a slayer just like the rest of us. Don't act like you can just get special treatment by making everyone feel bad for you."_

_Another girl slapped the side of her head as the small child choked out a loud sob. "I…" she began as her voice quivered. "I just…I wanna go home!" Another sob racked her chest as tears continued to stream down her cheeks._

_The brunette that still had a firm grip on her arm gave her a mocking pout. "Aw…you want to go home?" She drew out the question with a high pitched tone. When the child nodded, the grip got tighter and the older girl laughed – but it was a vicious, bitter laugh. "You're never going home. Never."_

_The older slayers continued to taunt the little girl, laughing as the she cried harder. That is, until a loud, authoritative voice boomed over theirs. "What the hell is going on here?!"_

_All of the girl but the smallest froze, wide eyed – especially the one holding onto her. In a matter of seconds, two people had pushed through the crowd of girls. The child tried to look up but found everything was still too blurry from the tears still leaking from her eyes. She could only make out one person's shining blonde hair and the other's long brown hair. The first woman grabbed the girl in front of the young, sobbing slayer and yanked the preteen girl up to her feet. "Marie, what are you doing?"_

_Everyone in the room could feel the chill in the woman's voice. The child rubbed her now bruised forearm, trying her best to will her tears to stop._

_"Miss Summers! I…Well, we were…" Now Marie's voice was quaking. "She…I…"_

_"Don't think you're gonna get much outta her, B," the other woman said._

_The blonde woman let Marie go and folded her arms. "Drills. Until dinner. Before you eat, I expect full, coherent sentences on what happened." She spun around to the rest of the girls, those who had helped and those who had simply stood there. "That goes for all of you."_

_One of the girls in the back shouted, "But we didn't do anything!"_

_"Exactly," the blonde woman replied, her voice still cold._

_There was a pause before the other woman spoke up. "C'mon, girlies! To the field! If ya have enough energy to pull this, then ya have enough energy to run laps!"_

_As the crowd dispersed, the blonde woman - who had become much clearer up close – leaned down and gave the little girl a worried gaze. "Madeline...it's okay. It's just me."_

_Maddie wiped her eyes and looked up at the woman with big, brown eyes. She sniffled and flinched when the woman touched her arm. "M-miss…Miss Summers?"_

_"Buffy, remember? I told you that you could call me Buffy," she said with a warm smile that almost reached her green eyes. "…Are you okay?"_

_The question alone made Maddie fall apart all over again. Choking sobs heaved in her chest as she tried to speak. "They were…they said…a-and I…I wanna go home!" She breathed in a deep, strangled breath and new tears streaked her face. "I just wanna go home!"_

_Buffy's smile fell slightly, her stare guilt-ridden. Her mouth remained slightly agape, words unable to pass from it. She breathed in and closed her mouth, folding the little girl in a hug. Maddie continued to cry as Buffy held onto her. They stayed that way until the child fell asleep, hearing the words "I'm sorry" every so often as soft as a lullaby._

 

* * *

 

"Okay, from the top," Stiles began, pressing the 'speaker' button on his phone and dropping it on his desk. He sat down in the computer chair and clicked on the minimized browser window. "New girl ends up at the school at night, claiming she was on a walk and heard a noise."

" **Okay, a little weird."**

"Right. Then, new girl stays behind and faces ginormous, psychotic Alpha werewolf and lives to tell the tale," he continued, typing into the search bar.

" **And you're** _ **sure**_ **you saw her stay behind…?"**

Stiles sighed exasperatedly as he clicked 'search'. "Dude, I was scared, not blind. She definitely stopped and turned around. Alright…" His eyes skimmed over the links as he continued. "And she was hurt; like, you smelled the blood, right?"

" **Right. And there was a lot of it. When she passed me on the way into the cafeteria, it was strong."**

"But she was totally fine by school on Monday." Stiles clicked on a link and hesitated for a moment. "I mean, as far as we know."

"… **I guess. I don't know, I was kind of distracted."**

The scrawny teenager leaned back in his chair, his thoughts muddling through the unpleasant memories of Monday. "Okay, then she shows up out of nowhere during your full moon freak out while you're fighting Derek, complete with crossbow."

" **And punches Derek."**

"My favorite part," Stiles muttered.

" **Stiles, focus!"**

"I'm focused! Totally focused." He leaned forward again and read through the page. "And while she's busy finding out your secret identity, someone drops this girl's bag on my doorstep with only three things it."

" **But we don't know who did it."**

"Or if those things were planted in the bag - which is pretty unlikely seeing as she showed up with  _another_  weapon. But…" He clicked on another link. "That leads to the fact that someone knew something about her already and wanted us to know." He read through the first paragraph but stopped suddenly as a thought struck him. "Or…"

 **"Or?"** There was a pause.  **"Or what?! Stiles!"**

"…Or maybe wanted to distract us from the big picture." His mouth went dry as he spun around to look at the bag. "Someone who could get into the school and grab the bag without being noticed…who might have been attacked by this girl and wanted her out of the way…" He swallowed and got up, moving over to the bed and looking at the weapons as fear tightened in his chest. "Or, you know, some _thing_. Just off the top of my head, something maybe big and hairy and  _completely_  unhinged. Something that, ah… apparently knows where I live."

The silence in the room almost made it seem as if the line went dead. Suddenly, Scott spoke up again.  **"…Something that knows she's after it."**

 

* * *

 

 

Madeline cracked her neck idly as she leaned against the lockers, beside Allison and Lydia. She was finally back in school that Friday after her insane Monday night and the following days that she spent recuperating. She'd been asked to report in to both headquarters and the Argents and had been avoiding both for some time. All Xander could get out of her was that she had a run in with the Betas that did not end well for her. She thought about telling them all about Scott and whoever he was with but her own curiosity had gotten the better of her. She didn't want to relay only half of the information until she had it all – until she knew who the wolf her attacked her was. Then there was Scott; she wasn't sure what she wanted to do about him. He'd broken up the fight and quite possibly saved her life for all she knew. It partially made her feel uncomfortable; she wasn't used to being saved by anyone. As a slayer, she had to be self-sufficient to some extent, after all.

It didn't matter though. Either way she looked at the situation, eventually she was going to have to confront him. He was one of the Betas and had information she needed, information that was crucial to her mission. The mission came first.  _The mission is what matters._

She stayed quiet, only giving short answered to make sure Allison thought she was listening. When she did so, she at least attempted to sound more like herself.

A few minutes later, she found herself sitting at a crowded table with the two and the addition of Jackson, who seemed to be distant and preoccupied. Of course, this was not of any surprise to her; he'd been that way since the first day she met him. It was strange nonetheless. When Maddie began wondering what had his attention, she followed his stare to find none other than Scott talking with Stiles. She'd seen them only a few times in classes that day but hadn't gotten a chance to approach Scott yet. She was about to excuse herself when her hearing picked up something – more specifically Jackson, who was whispering to himself.

" _You can, can't you?"_

Her eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head to the side slightly, glancing between Jackson and Scott.

" _Are you trying to pretend not to hear me?"_

Jackson then got up from the table, which no one seemed to notice much less care. Maddie watched him walk off and then turned to Scott and Stiles who seemed to be thoroughly freaked out.

"Maddie!" Allison said again, snapping her fingers. Madeline turned to her with a blank expression, causing the youngest Argent to give her a concerned look. "You okay?"

Maddie nodded quickly and offered a tight smile. "Yeah! Just…thinking." She paused for a moment before her eyes widened. "Sorry, what were you saying before?"

"Lydia and I were going shopping before the game tonight," Allison replied, pointing to the girl next to her who was reapplying her lip gloss.

The Slayer raised her eyebrows in surprise as her interest piqued. "…There's a game tonight?"

Allison's smile faltered. "Yeah, but…I'm not actually going to the game."

"Which is ridiculous," Lydia added suddenly. "Scott's presence should not be affecting where you go or what you do. You're giving  _him_  the power."

The pale brunette looked over at her as if she were about to say something but instead she let out a heavy sigh and turned back to Madeline. "Anyway, I'm still joining in on the shopping. You should, too. It'll be fun!"

Maddie arched an eyebrow and felt the word 'no' on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed, forcing the answer back down. She'd been so preoccupied with the situation with Scott – and apparently now with Jackson from the looks of it – that she hadn't even thought about her 'bodyguard' duty all that much. Not to mention, shopping was a better excuse than getting caught in the bushes spying on people. She smiled again, only trying to keep it a bit more natural this time. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"And to be clear," Lydia interjected, "this is a test run. I don't typically invite people with little to no fashion sense, but lucky for you Allison wants you there."

Maddie looked down at her clothes, simple and comfortable as always. Her smile fell slightly and she nodded. "Right."

Allison gave an apologetic look before a loud crack sounded from the center of the room. Everyone turned and all eyes were on Scott, who seemed to have broken his lunch tray. His eyes were dark as they sent a dangerous glare to the far corner of the room. Maddie looked over to find a smirking Jackson staring back, eating his apple. Before she knew what was happening, Scott left his broken tray behind and stormed out of the cafeteria followed in suit by a worried looking Stiles.

In a flash, Maddie stood up and grabbed her bag. Hesitating, she looked over at bewildered faces of the rest of her table, including Allison and Lydia. Eyes wide as she took a second to think, she finally found her voice again. "I just remembered! Stiles is letting me borrow some notes." She was quiet for a moment and blinked. "I need to go get those. Right now."

Without waiting for a response, she roughly pushed in her chair and bolted out of the room. Allison turned her confused stare to her friend, whose only reply was, " _You're_  the one who wanted her to sit here."

 

* * *

 

Maddie's heavy footfalls echoed in the scarcely populated hallway, her eyes searching for Scott and Stiles. Spotting them several yards ahead and heading in the direction of the nearest exit, she was about to follow when she heard something. There was a whimper and a slam. Her head snapped over in the direction of the sound, finding a few very large boys in sports sweatshirts huddled around something _. From the sounds of it, someone_ , was the unpleasant thought that entered her head. She frowned and looked back over to her targets that were half way out the door. Her gaze shifted between the two places in indecision.

It was then she noted something; there were two people standing around idly chatting. Every few seconds, they would uncomfortably glance over to the boys and whoever they were attacking. She gritted her teeth and turned around, striding over to the unknown boys and their prey. She roughly grabbed one of their shoulders – the biggest of the three – and spun him around. The boy looked more irritated than anything else. Madeline arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"None of your business," he replied with a sneer.

The slayer's eyes narrowed on him before she glanced over to the vacant space he stood. In the ground against the lockers was a pale, blonde girl with wide, frightened eyes. She was shaking slightly as she looked at the slayer. Maddie's stare darkened as it returned to the boy. "You need to stop before you get yourselves hurt."

All three of them laughed and it was clear why. Maddie was no more than a hair above five foot two and rather average sized. There was nothing overtly muscular or at all threatening about her as far as they could tell. The one she was holding onto tried to regain his composure. "Wait, was that a threat?"

Another one of the smaller boys – the blond one – circled around her, his lean form resting against the lockers as he ran his eyes up and down her body. Maddie felt more than a bit disgusted and fought back the urge to take them all out right there. The boy smirked and folded his arms. "And what do we get if we do?"

Maddie's stomach lurched at the idea. She looked around at the boys now surrounding her, noting the maroon hooded sweatshirts with the team logo on the front. Her gaze met the smaller boy's again and she tilted her head with a smile, her grip leaving the larger one's shoulder finally. "You boys play lacrosse, am I right?" They didn't have time to answer before she went on. "Then I have a proposition for you." She pointed momentarily at each one of them. "You leave now and go to your game tonight unscathed or…" Her smile dropped instantly. "You can stay and I can break each of your arms in three different places rendering all of you, for lack of a more fitting term…" A ghost of a smirk appeared on her lips. "… _impotent_."

Their smiled fell completely and the largest of them, out of offense and quite possibly rage, moved forward and tried to grab Madeline. The slayer side stepped the large hand and grabbed his wrist and forearm tightly, yanking him down to knee him in the stomach. Out of her peripheral, she noticed the other two coming in quickly. As the largest of the three remained out of breath and in pain, Maddie used his already clenched fist, forcing it into the ribs of the blond boy and then forcing the elbow behind them and into the last boy's jaw. Finally, she twisted the arm, forcing the largest boy's to spin around to the lockers which she then slammed him into.

She kept a firm hold on the boy's arm, causing him to yelp in pain. His two friends were on their knees, gasping for breath and holding onto their respective bruised body parts. Maddie leaned in close, the tone in her voice almost dangerous. "If I see another bruise on this girl, it'll be my  _personal_  mission to make sure none of you ever play another sport again." She paused and took a deep, calming breath. "Am I making myself clear?"

The large high school student weakly nodded and Madeline instantly let go of him. He turned around, huffed a few times as if he would finally do something. Hit her, maybe. His fist was balled and shaking when he looked at her and then at his friends who were struggling to stand upright and walk away. His eyes shifted to the few people who witnessed the scene. Without another word, he stomped off with his friends in tow.

"Have a good game!" Maddie called after them, without a drop of sincerity. She spun around to the two onlookers, her stare still icy. "The same goes for you. Get out of here."

The two girls, looking almost scandalized, looked at each other then back to Madeline. The short, skittish looking one spoke up first. "What?! But we didn't do anything!"

Maddie stopped for a second, the words slicing through her. The look on her face was unreadable as she took a breath. "…Exactly."

The girls looked down at the helpless girl on the floor, perhaps ashamed of themselves. A bit frightened, they glanced back at Maddie once before rushing off.

As if snapping back to reality, she found herself eyeing the doors she saw Scott and Stiles went through minutes before. A tired, heavy sigh escaped her lips and she looked down at the girl, holding out a hand. The girl shook her head and struggled to stand on her own. "No, it's okay. I, um…I got it." She rolled up the sleeves of her oversized sweat shirt and tried to smooth down her frizzy, blonde hair. She looked over in the direction the boys had gone and frowned. "H-how do you know they won't tell a teacher or something?"

A short, bitter laugh left Maddie as she folded her arms and looked in the same direction. "Because they'd have to admit they were beat up by a girl." The petite slayer looked over at the girl again, this time much closer. There were bags under her light brown eyes, which were still a bit red. She was pale, thin and frail-looking, like she was about to break into a million pieces if someone touched her – both physically and emotionally. "Let me know if they hurt you again, alright?"

The girl shook her head again. "It's fine! You don't have to do that…"

" _Let me know_ , okay?" Maddie repeated much more firmly this time. The blonde girl opened her mouth but nothing came out. Instead, she simply nodded. Maddie gave her a small, sympathetic smile before turning and heading toward the door she had intended to follow the Beta and his friend through.

"Hey," the girl called out weakly. Madeline stopped and turned to the blonde who continued. "…What's your name?"

The slayer hesitated for a second or two and finally answered. "Maddie."

The girl gave her own small, appreciative smile. "I'm Erica." There was a short pause, almost as if she had to will herself to speak again. "…thanks, Maddie."

Maddie nodded to Erica and pushed through the exit.


	11. Emergencies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Projects. Chases. Wolfsbane. "You seem to be getting in my way a lot lately. How very typical of the Slayer."

 

Hours. It had been hours since lunch and now Maddie found herself leaving her last class of the day. She wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to meet someone somewhere due to this… _shopping_  trip, but it was a safe bet that she would run into one of the people she knew before she left the school. She was hoping it'd be the boys she'd been trying to track down all day. They'd both managed to evade her thus far and it was irritating to say the least. Even in the classes they shared, they managed to grab seats as far away from her as humanly possible. It was a fair reaction, considering she'd blatantly attacked their werewolf friend after all. Still, it was getting infuriating.

Now, she found herself walking down the crowded halls, hoping to find something – what that something was, she didn't know yet. Anything, really. A lead, a fight, an escape from this afternoon's plans. She released a heavy sigh and lazily put her wavy hair up in a messy ponytail as she turned the corner, finding her eyes gravitating toward a couple in the center of the corridor. She groaned, recognizing Jackson and Lydia almost immediately. It had hardly been past a week and she knew them on site and that almost scared her a bit. This was not how she thought her week – let alone her mission – would go thus far. Her pace slowed as their voices became clearer. An argument.  _Great_. She wanted to turn around and bolt down the hall in the opposite direction and even hesitated as she continued forward.

"Dumping, actually. I'm  _dumping_  you." Jackson's voice was light and airy as he spoke, a smirk resting on his face.

Maddie froze at the words and began debating if it was too late to turn around.

Lydia grabbed his leather jacket and pulled him back. Her face struggled to remain stoic as she looked him dead in the eye. "Dumped by the  _co_ -captain of the lacrosse team." Maddie noticed the look in her eyes betrayed her expression and her words, which was interesting. It was a more unrestrained reaction than even the other night at the school; it was baffling that something like this affected her more. "I wonder how many  _minutes_  it'll take me to get over that."

Jackson simply smiled and shrugged her hand off, walking past Maddie who was just carefully making her way over. Lydia's stare was ablaze as she shouted after him, "No, wait, seconds! _Seconds_!" The fairer girl looked around, as if to see if anyone caught her blowing a gasket. That's when her eyes stopped on Maddie, who was almost right next to her at that point and giving Lydia an expectant look. Lydia huffed and glared. "What?"

Maddie's eyes were wide as she raised an eyebrow and looked back at the direction Jackson had gone, then over to Lydia again. "…Everything okay?"

"Fine," the redhead said, a sharp edge in her voice. "Everything's  _fine_." She dropped her phone into her purse and folded her arms. The next words that came out of her mouth seemed hesitant and almost forced. "So. Shopping?"

Maddie's mouth fell open to say something against it as Lydia began walking towards the school entrance. The slayer sped up to stay in toe, brows furrowed. "Wait, what about Allison? Isn't she going too?"

Lydia's eyes rolled. "Allison cancelled. She said she had something  _important_  to do." Her annoyance shone through in her tone as she roughly pushed open the door to the outside.

"What?!" Maddie replied, unable to hide her shock. "But- no, I- …she said-"

They made their way through the parking lot to the shiny black Volkswagen Beetle in the center. Lydia, clearly resolving to keep her cool, reached in her back for her keys. Pulling them out she pressed a button attached to one of them, causing the lights on the car to blink. As she reached the driver's side of the vehicle, she gave Maddie a deadpan glance. "And now, she's not going. Get over it and get in the car."

Maddie frowned; she didn't quite understand why she was still moving towards the car but there was something authoritative in Lydia's tone that made her oblige. She managed not to gripe about it and instead mustered up a half-hearted glare and got in the passenger side.

* * *

It had been little over an hour and Madeline Hayes found herself trailing behind Lydia Martin in the center of Macy's with little choice in the matter. Lydia seemed to be manically picking up, examining, and putting back clothes. She'd only managed to pick up one item and decided to buy it. Of course, this clearly wasn't enough. Maddie didn't quite understand how this was helping the girl after a break up; how spending money could possibly quell her frayed emotions. Then again, she wasn't one to judge.

On the other hand, she certainly felt like she was wasting her time.

This was neither beneficial toward her mission nor following her leads. If anything, this was hindering her progress with pointless activity. She grimaced at the mannequins in their trendy clothes.

Lydia seemed to note this reaction but continued nonetheless. She raised a top she'd picked out just moments before and examined it in the mirror. The color was too dark and seemed to wash out her skin tone – not to mention it wasn't nearly bold enough. It was then she caught a glimpse of an increasingly bored Maddie eyeing passersby. That was when she stuck out her hand and grabbed the girl's arm, dragging her over.

Maddie seemed caught off guard by the action, as she actually let it happen. She gave the other girl an indignant look and was about to say something when Lydia beat her to it. "Stand still." She then proceeded to place the top in front of Maddie and study it. After a few seconds, she shoved it into the petite slayer's hands before moving on. "That's what I thought."

"Huh?" Madeline managed to say. She looked down at the piece of clothing quickly, shaking her head. "Whoa. Okay,  _no_. Not happening!" This seemed to make Lydia stop and turn back around, giving Maddie a look as if she were speaking gibberish. "We're not here for me. We're here for you –  _just_  you."

"I completely agree," Lydia said, spinning back around and continuing to look through clothes. This time though, it seemed she only kept analyzing them and turning back to also analyze Maddie. "Allison wants you to sit with us and even though I don't understand her judgment on that, I can work with it. In fact, I've been needing a…" Lydia held up another shirt and looked at Maddie again before putting it back. "…project."

"Is this about your boyfriend?" Maddie suddenly asked, causing Lydia's head jerk back towards her.

" _Ex_ ," Lydia stressed, narrowing her hazel eyes. "And no, it has  _nothing_  to do with him. Can't a girl do anything without it being because of some half-wit  _boy_?"

Maddie blinked and shrugged her shoulders. "…I don't know how you want me to answer that."

Lydia gave a small sigh and went back to flicking through the hangers, stopping ever so often. She raised another top, studying it for a moment. "Besides, I find organizing new color palettes…" Her head tilted and a tight smile stretched across her lips. "… _soothing_."

* * *

The sun had long since set and Maddie now found herself walking the remaining distance to the motel. After their strange yet almost amiable outing, it took her about ten minutes to convince Lydia that she was going to walk home. There were quite enough questions she had to make up answers to and she didn't need another. Now she quietly carried her backpack through the dimly lit streets, half patrolling and half walking to the motel. Tucked away safely in her bag were a few other bags now – clothes Lydia had convinced her to buy after quite a bit of arguing. They were alright, considering she never really thought about wearing anything that exceeded her comfort level. If she couldn't fight in it, what was the point? She adjusted the strap of her bag and sighed, bring her thoughts back to patrolling.

She then came to a traffic light, stopping as she saw the bright red hand across the street. The slayer shuffled a bit in her spot, mulling over her thoughts; dwelling over how she hadn't accomplished a thing all week. All the girl needed was one moment to question Scott McCall or his little sarcastic friend and that would've been progress. After all, it only took less than a week to stumble upon his identity – which certainly called into question just how bad he was at keeping his secret. Maddie was astounded that Allison didn't know yet. Of course it also meant she had given her own secret away, but she decided not to think about that just now.

The traffic light turned red just then and just one car slowed to a stop while the red hand turned into a whitish-yellow person. Maddie began walking, her feet slightly dragging across the blacktop. She was getting tired and it wasn't even ten yet. Part of her thought that this mission would be quick and easy, meaning she'd be on her way back to headquarters by now. Instead, she had hardly made any progress at all. She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she passed the blue jeep and reached the sidewalk.

That was when she stopped _. Blue jeep._  No. Other people have those too. She spun around and looked at the vehicle, finding a wide-eyed Stiles and an slightly older stranger in the car. Her head tilted as she examined them, unable to hear their voices.

What she did hear as the light turned green again was the stranger saying aggressively, "Stiles,  _drive_."

The wheels screeched as they spun out a bit and zoomed off into the night. Maddie suddenly seemed to find herself at a crossroads, in more ways than one.  _Well, I could wait for opportunities to come to me…_

Her eyes narrowed on the car that was speeding away.  _…or chase down my own._

She tightly gripped her bag and went into a full sprint. The car was faster though, much faster as it failed to stop at the next stop sign. It was certainly times like this she wished she could toss her bag into the bushes and give herself the extra momentum – alas setting down her things tended to end with her losing them altogether. She pushed herself harder, still in sight of the car and slowly gaining on it. Her hair whipped around as the wind picked up, making it especially hard to see. Maddie just barely missed hitting the fence in front of her, instead vaulting herself over it.

Across yards and sidewalks, she ran, silently thanking Kennedy's harsh training regimen before returning her focus to the blue jeep. Weaving through some trees, she found herself back at the sidewalk and, to her own relief, right next to Stiles' car as it kept going. Her eyes darted over for a moment to see an intrigued, scruffy looking stranger and a mortified Stiles clearly mouthing 'Oh my God! What the f-' before she had to turn back to narrowly miss an oncoming car. The ugly, mustard-colored sedan screeched to a halt and loudly honked its horn as the jeep and the girl continued on.

That was when Stiles made a quick, unanticipated left across traffic and into the entrance labeled "Beacon Hills Hospital". Maddie came to a stumbling stop, nearly tripping over herself. She growled under her breath and speedily crossed the intersection to catch up once again. She slowed her pace finally, several feet away from the jeep. She noticed the dark silhouettes in the window and stopped, crouching quickly behind a bush. Her breathing was ragged now and she was sweating quite a bit as she finally set down her backpack. Her hands fumbled as she rushed to unzip it and dig past the plastic shopping bags to reach what was under them. Maddie carefully pulled out a newly sharpened stake and a small, dark vile, stowing them in her sleeves.

That was when she heard the car door open and slam shut. She immediately poked her head up at the noise, eyes focusing on the lone figure walking towards the entrance. Her stare darted over to the jeep, noting the stranger was still sitting in the passenger side. Her eyes narrowed on the figure, uneasiness settling in her stomach. The slayer wondered quietly whether either of the two were also wolves or not. There was no telling yet but odds at least told her that there was a better chance that if they both were, Stiles would most likely be the easier to take in a fight. Of course, the only way to get there was to pass the car. She cracked her neck then, grumbling to herself, and stood. Steeling herself, she began the nerve-wracking walk to the jeep.

Unfortunately, before she could make her way all the way over, the stranger swung open his door and thunderously slammed it closed. He had a phone to his ear and was facing her instantly. Maddie stopped in her tracks, hardly a yard away from the man that towered over her. There was a familiarity to him as he glowered at her. She glanced past him to the hospital entrance then back to the stranger. "I have to get in there."

He growled – not an ordinary growl though. Something lower, more ferocious, and almost…inhuman. In that moment, she watched his eyes glow a bright blue, piercing through her. Her eyes widened for a moment before her stare darkened and a grim laugh passed her lips. "Of course it's you."

Instead of moving to attack her or reply, he instead seemed to speak into the phone. "Then ask for Jennifer, she's been taking care of my uncle." Neither moved from their spots, though Maddie's hands twitched at her sides anxiously. After another moment, the man's glare shifted to confusion. "What?!"

Maddie's curiosity piqued as she focused her attention and hearing on the phone. Vaguely, she managed to make out, " **He's not here. He's _gone_ , Derek."**

That was when something she hadn't expected happened, the werewolf –  _Derek_  – paled. His attention didn't seem to be on her at all anymore. He turned to the hospital with wide, horror-struck eyes. "Stiles, get out of there right now! It's him! He's the Alpha! Get out!"

Maddie seemed to go white as a ghost herself as the wolf hung up the phone and he quickly shot her a look. "What the hell are you waiting for?! You're a slayer; go do your job!"

She gaped at him. "How-"

" _Go_!" He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her forward. The beta went into a dead run himself, clearly expecting her to follow. It took her a second to register what was happening but quickly followed him all the same.

They ran in the double doors and bolted down corridor after corridor. She kept her eyes on the wolf who days before got the better of her, unsure if she should trust him. There was no time to think about that now though, especially if the Alpha was in the building. Her heart was beating rapidly, though she couldn't discern if that was because of all of the running or because she's knew someone could be in danger. She willed herself to go faster, unfamiliar with such a level of adrenaline.

They turned the corner once more and the beta elbowed what looked like a nurse in the face.

At the far end of the hall was a man with graying hair and a face that was horribly disfigured on one side. He looked at Derek without even an ounce of surprise. "That's not nice; she's my nurse."

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people. Get out of the way," he said without taking his eyes off of the older man.

Stiles seemed to have taken the last part as an order directed towards him as his shoulders slumped. "Ah…damn," was all he managed as he ducked down to the ground.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose? One of my own family?" the man replied, his voice lower, angrier as he walking closer. Derek let out a deafening roar and went forward to attack, only to be caught by the scarred man and shoved into a wall so hard that the part of the wall was crushed for the force. Maddie took a defensive stance, the motion catching the man's attention as Derek fell to the ground. "And  _you_  - you seem to be getting in my way a lot lately. How very  _typical_  of the Slayer."

Much faster than she anticipated, he ducked her oncoming forearm shot and easily backhanded her into the other wall, having much of the same effect on it as Derek did. She fell to the ground on her hands and knees, spitting out a bit of blood in her mouth and peering up at the man – the Alpha. In the distance, she noticed Stiles scramble out of the way. Discreetly as possible, she allowed the vile to slip out of her sleeve as she grasped it tightly.

"You know," he began again, keeping his foot on Derek's throat as he pulled something from his leather coat. In the florescent light gleamed a freshly polished double-headed hand axe, both sides filled with intricately carved Celtic symbols weaving through each other. Maddie's eyes widened and, for the second time that night, she paled. The man looked at the weapon with interest. "I was beginning to see you as a threat, but let's be fair here –" He threw the axe, narrowly missing the slayer as she rolled out of the way. "You can't even keep track of your toys."

Without another word, she popped open the top of the vile and quickly splashed the content in the direction of the Alpha. Although it barely hit him, some made contact with his skin, searing it momentarily. In the distraction, Maddie made it to her feet weakly and bolted toward her hand axe, yanking it out of the linoleum. She them sprinted to the closest open door, behind her dropping the vile labeled ' _Wolfsbane Oil – Emergencies! :)_ '.

As she heard the fight commence between the two wolves, she caught sight of a panicking Stiles crouched on the floor. The slayer grabbed him by the collar roughly and dragged him to his feet. "C'mon!" she whispered, her voice harsh and urgent.

Without a second thought, the two bolted toward the exit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The wolfsbane was in fact given to Maddie by Willow. Just FYI. Don't forget to review if you liked the chapter! Feedback is mucho appreciated.


	12. Super Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations. Missing Persons. Tension. "Wait...you're a what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Recommendation ["We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands" - The Academy Is...]  
> NOTE: For the full experience, I do personally suggest seeking out each song rec.

Fifteen minutes. It had been fifteen whole minutes that Madeline sat with her arms folded in the worn blue jeep in dead silence as Stiles drove toward the school. She kept her thickly outlined eyes on him as her mouth stretched into a frown. It had been this way the entire drive and it wasn't getting any better. It had been enough that they had argued for whole minute in the hospital parking lot about whether or not she'd get in the car.

_"Scott doesn't need both of us there to warn him! You go!"_

_"And I don't need a dead whatever you are on my conscience! Just get in the jeep!"_

Eventually, she'd been worn down enough and got in, convincing herself that she only did so because she still had to question Scott. She hadn't been able to say a word since, as she knew it'd end with her yelling again. In that moment though, she allowed all of her questions to flood into her brain, sifting through them all. For instance, what was Stiles? Was he anything? She doubted it, thinking back to the incident at the hospital. Why was he with that wolf? And the better question: why was he so okay to leave without him?

Eventually, Stiles glanced over – most likely in his own suspicion. He gave the girl a blank look before focusing back on the road. "What?"

This did nothing to deter her glare. "…What are you?"

"Human! Male. Aries." He turned the corner and began drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "A severely freaked out high school student. Take your pick." Maddie had rolled her eyes and finally looked away, out the passenger side window as Stiles began to speak again. "And what about you, huh?! What did the Alpha call you again?"

Maddie groaned and rolled her eyes. A sigh of relief escaped her as they pulled up to the school, the tires screeching to a halt as they quickly parked.

Stiles on the other hand, looked back over at her instantly. "This conversation –  _not_  over!" He tried to give an intimidating glare but was sidetracked when his keys failed to leave the ignition. Maddie raised an eyebrow as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the passenger side door. He tugged a bit longer at the keys before they finally released and he quickly got out of the car as well – but with much more frustration.

The two began rushing toward the school, Maddie a bit ahead and wiping the dried blood from the corner of her mouth as people continued to file out of the building. Just as Stiles managed to match her pace though, they both heard something.

"Maddie?"

The slayer stopped in her tracks and grimaced, recognizing the voice. Stiles stopped as well and looked back before Maddie spoke quietly. "Go find Scott. I'll meet you both inside.  _Hurry._ "

Stiles gave a silent nod and rushed inside. Maddie, on the other hand, took a deep breath and turned around as Allison walked towards her. The petite slayer forced a tight-lipped smile and waved, every one of her actions feeling stiff and unnatural. Allison smiled widely and closed the distance. "Hey! You missed the game!"

"The game?" Maddie asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. A half-second later, her eyes widened and her mouth hung open for a moment. "Right! The game! I forgot." She shrugged her shoulders.

Allison glanced behind her friend at the entrance of the school and back. "And instead…you hung out with Stiles."

"Yeah," Maddie said with a nod. It came out a bit quick but she had failed to think of any other alibi.

The youngest Argent raised an eyebrow, seeming quite a bit amused. "…During the game he was supposed to be in."

"Yeah- wait, what?" The slayer blinked rapidly and gave the other girl a look as if she'd just seen her head get lopped off. Allison giggled at the reaction which did nothing but confuse Maddie further. "What?!"

Allison shook her head slowly, still smiling from ear to ear. "Nothing, nothing…It's just…" She slightly shrugged. "…cute."

Maddie needed a moment to process this; she didn't quite understand what was 'cute' or why for that matter.  _We were walking, Allison saw us walking, and…and…_ In that instant, her face paled and contorted in an incomprehensible amount of shock, although she would consider that an understatement. "You…you think that-"

"Really, there's nothing wrong with it!" An airy laugh came from Allison, most likely due to the expression the suggestion earned. She shrugged. "I mean, I didn't think he'd be your type but…"

"He is  _not_  my type!" Maddie was shouting and gesturing emphatically now, waving her hands and shaking her head. "Why…How could you even-… _Gods_ , no!"

"It's okay, Maddie!" Allison said, her smile unfaltering until she took a moment to backtrack. "Hold on. Did you say 'gods'? Like, plural?"

Maddie's mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. Fortunately, Chris Argent's voice boomed over the crowd. "Allison! Time to go!"

Allison looked like she was about to say something but instead simply smiled, although her eyes were still curious. She gave a quick wave to the shorter girl. "Text me later." She pointed at her and narrowed her eyes playfully. "We are  _so_  talking about this."

As she left, Maddie sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Oh, of course we will," she muttered under her breath before turning and walking into the school. By the time she entered through the front doors, the halls were practically bare, only with a few people chatting excitedly as they headed out. She did a quick once over before pulling out her phone.

 _Where are you two?_   **[Fri 10:32 PM]**

She tapped the side of her phone with her index finger impatiently, rocking on the balls of her feet. After a moment that seemed much longer than it actually was, her phone buzzed in her hand.

 **Stiles:**   _Boys locker room we'll be out in a sec_ **[Fri 10:34 PM]**

Maddie rolled her eyes and began walking again. She was already thoroughly annoyed by this boy – even more so now after speaking to Allison – and was not about to wait patiently for him and his werewolf buddy. Her strides got longer and quicker as she rounded the corner and bolted for the door marked 'Boys' Locker Room', roughly pushing it open and walking in. As she went further into the foreign territory, she caught sight of the boys. Stiles jumped when he saw her, as did Scott who was trying to cover himself up as he was only in a towel. Maddie didn't quite take that into consideration when she entered, now turning her head toward the nearest wall.

"Oh my  _god_ , what are you doing?!" Stiles shouted, as if he'd been the one who got caught pants-less. "I said we'd be out!"

The slayer shrugged, attempting not to laugh. After all, she was still a teenage girl in a boys' locker room, but she wasn't about to give in to something that immature. "Yeah, well, you were taking too long!"

"Maybe we were taking too long for a reason! Maybe our bad thing isn't the only bad thing that happened tonight!" Stiles argued, his hand gestures increasing with his temper. "Maybe -!"

"Will you guys stop?!" Scott yelled, holding his head in his hands. Both Maddie and Stiles shrank back, with equally childish reactions – mostly folding their arms and huffing loudly. Scott looked up at the girl, his stare noting his uncertainty. "Stiles said Peter called you something."

Maddie's eye grew wide and her arms fell back to her sides.

"You're obviously not a werewolf, but you're not human either," Stiles muttered, giving her a curious look, although still with an air of annoyance.

Maddie narrowed her eyes on him. "I  _am_  human."

"Human beings-!" He stopped himself and regained his composure. "I don't know if  _you_  know this but human beings don't actually run as fast as cars or walk away from monster fights in one piece."

There was a prolonged silence as she frowned, glaring holes through the pale boy. "You wouldn't believe me." She looked down at Scott with an empty stare. "Neither of you would."

"Uh, hello," Stiles began gesturing to Scott. "Werewolf." He then gestured to himself. "Friend of werewolf. So, unless you're freaking Super Girl on vacation from Metropolis, I think we can handle it."

A hollow laugh escaped her, echoing off the walls as she shook her head. "Fine then." She took a deep breath, repeating that stupid outdated legend over and over in her head as her stomach churned.  _Into each generation…she alone will stop the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness…she is…she is…I am…_  She swallowed hard and looked the boys dead in the eye. "I'm a Vampire Slayer."

A long silence passed between the three as the boys watched her, confused. Their mouths hung open slightly as she watched their brains quietly process the words. Stiles furrowed his eyebrows, opening and closing his mouth as if he kept thinking of what to say and then changing his mind rapidly. Scott's eyes darted around rapidly in thought, like she had said something in a different language.

That was when one single, solitary question found its way to Stiles head and without a second thought it left him.

"Wait…you're a  _what_?"

* * *

Stiles sat on Scott's bed, rubbing the fresh bruise on his forearm gently as he glared at Madeline – who was glaring back, mind you. She leaned on the wall beside a poster of some band she's never heard of with her arms folded across her chest. Scott, on the other hand sat quietly in his computer chair, his dark eyes darting from his hands to Maddie back and forth in deep thought. In between flares of severe annoyance, Maddie silently went over the order of events since she had told them her secret.

Maddie had repeated her confession _. "I'm a vampire slayer."_

Scott had finally spoken.  _"A vampire…"_

"… _ **Slayer**_ _. Yeah,"_  she had cut him off, emphasizing both syllables in 'slayer' as if she were speaking to a small child.

Stiles had laughed - not just any laugh though; it was hysterical laughter…that continued for almost a full minute.

That was when she punched him in the arm, holding back quite a bit when she reminded herself he was human. Still, it started turning purple rather quickly.

After several more minutes of  _"vampires don't exist"_ , someone had walked into the locker room, shocked to find a girl there. The unanimous vote was to leave and discuss this somewhere much more private. So, after a prolonged awkward silence between Maddie and Stiles in his jeep, Scott showed up fully dressed and they sped off.

That was twenty minutes ago. Since then, she had allowed the two to process the information, not that that was going all that well either.

"There's no proof," Stiles began, narrowing his eyes on Maddie.

The Slayer rolled her eyes discreetly and muttered, "Not in this town, at least…" Off the boys' looks, she sighed and pushed herself off the wall. "Look, they're real. Vampires. Evil, blood sucking fiends. Pale. Sharp teeth. It's all true. Scott?"

Scott blinked, returning his stare to the girl. "Uh, yeah?"

Madeline walked over to him and kneeled down to be eye level with the boy. "Listen to my heart beat." There was a moment of silence in which the only thing that was clear was just how uncomfortable Scott looked. "Vampires…are…real. They're very dangerous. I was trained to slay them." There was another pause. "Okay?"

Scott looked as if he were searching for something as the silence went on. He heaved a sigh and slowly turned to Stiles. "…She's not lying."

The pale boy's shoulders slumped; still, he gestured to her again but with much less conviction. "Or maybe you believe your own hype. We don't really have a vampire here for you to  _slay_."

Maddie stood and gave Stiles a pointed glare. "Fine." She took a long step back and motioned to the computer. "Why don't you look it up?"

The boys exchanged confused glances before giving her two suspicious ones. "Is…this a trick?" Scott replied carefully.

Maddie shook her head. "Not at all." As Scott slowly scooted over to the desktop and jiggled the mouse, Stiles quickly stumbled over to look over his shoulder. "Search new articles for puncture neck wounds, severe blood loss, and missing persons."

Again, the two gave each other cautious looks before Scott began typing. It was a few extra moment before the petite slayer turned to the screen and awaited a response.

"Madison, Wisconsin – two teenagers missing, one found dead. Two punctures in the neck. Cause of death according to coroner: exsanguination or…" Scott's voice trailed off as his eyes widened.

Stiles exhaled loudly. "…severe blood loss."

"That was two days ago." Scott sounded distant as he continued. "Cleveland, Ohio – two women found dead in local night club 'Velvet Dog'. The CPD has not yet released any information but the bartender on the scene who found the two early this morning has attested that there were in fact puncturing neck wounds on both girls, correlating with the recent string of serial murders…"

"Albany, Portland, New Orleans, San Francisco…" Stiles watched the screen as Scott scrolled. "This is just this month."

Maddie shrugged, her expression unchanged. "Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening." They both turned to her but remained quiet, wearing equally unsettled and unsure stares. The brunette girl huffed loudly. "Look, I get that you don't believe me. I get it. It's big and scary and you're not ready – but there are more important things going on! There's a psychotic alpha werewolf that wants Scott on his side and already has one beta playing for his team. I came here to  _stop him_ , not explain myself to amateurs."

"But why you?" Stiles asked, glancing up at her in confusion. "I mean, why send a  _vampire slayer_  to stop a werewolf?"

"It's a  _title_ ," she said, withholding a growl. "Slayers deal with any and all monsters. It's part of the deal."

"What  _deal_?" The irritation in Stiles' tone overshadowed his curiosity as he stood again but kept his distance. The last thing he needed was another bruise – or worse, something broken.

"Now isn't the time! Drop it!" She had taken a step closer as if she actually did intend to punch him again. Arms folded once again, she found to unclench her fists.

That was when the door creaked open. "Scott, is everything okay in…"

The entire room went quiet again as the three teenagers found themselves looking at an older woman with curly, black hair looking positively worn in her pink and flower print scrubs. Although, now she looked every bit as uncomfortable as Maddie felt. Grasping at straws, the slayer took a breath and waved. "Hi, um…you must be Scott's mom!"

"Is it that obvious?" she said, her voice flat before she managed an amused smile. Maddie, though, took an extra moment realize she'd been joking and forced her own smile.

Scott stood up quickly as if he was preparing to be busted for something. "Hey, mom! This is my, um…new friend. Maddie."

Scott's mother gave a slight wave to the girl. "It's nice to meet you, Maddie." She looked between the teenage girl and Stiles. "Am I interrupting something?"

In that instant, out of her peripheral, Maddie noticed Stiles take a side step away from her. "What?" She quickly glanced over, noticing that if it hadn't been for Stiles, they would still be stand precariously close together. Her eyes widened in horror for the second time that night as she looked back at the woman in the doorway. "No!"

Scott's mom raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. "Well then, school night or not, it's getting late."

Scott gave an understanding nod. "Right." Both Maddie and Stiles seemed to get the hint moved towards the hallway. "Tomorrow, you guys?"

They both stopped for a second and it took Stiles a moment to respond. "Right! Yeah. Tomorrow." He turned to Maddie, giving her an overly expressive, expectant look. Silently, Maddie struggled to smile widely and nod. The two mumbled goodnight to both McCalls and promptly headed out.

As the front door shut behind them, they walked out into the dark driveway. "That couldn't have looked worse if we tried," Stiles grumbled.

" _Gods_ , I didn't know we were standing that close!" came Maddie's harsh whisper.

"Not that," Stiles said. He paused. "Okay, yeah, that too. But-" He stopped himself and turned to her with a curious stare. "Did you just say 'gods'? As in plural?"

Maddie groaned and continued towards the jeep.

"Like…multiple gods? Is that an actual thing? Because I think I'm gonna need some irrefutable proof on that one." He opened the driver side door of his car and hopped in.

The slayer opened the passenger side door and heaved herself in, shutting the door behind her. "Stiles, I just want to go home."

"Hey, remember when you  _punched_  me?" He closed his own door and revved the engine. "I think this is more than a fair trade. A ride home for a random monster-hunter-slayer-whatever fact. If anything, I'm getting shorted."

Her dark eyes narrowed on him. "Then I'll walk."

"You're already in the car, just accept the damn ride." He began backing out onto the street. "It won't kill you."

She continued to glare at him for a few seconds more before begrudgingly buckling her seatbelt in acceptance.

As they drove down the street in silence once more, all Maddie could think of was how badly she messed up tonight. She only narrowly escaped the Alpha and now her identity was out – and that wasn't even counting the awful insinuations made by both Allison and Scott's mother. She was absolutely sure that there was no way any of this could possibly end well for any of them – and that was now on her.

"So this polytheism thing..."

She groaned again.


	13. Good and Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairytales. Worries. Threats. “It will most definitely blow up in your face."

_I feel like I need to get a few things straight._

_Number one: Scott and Stiles were **not**  my friends._

_Number two: I didn’t **want**  any friends._

_Number three: Something inside me was compelled to keep Scott’s secret from the Argents for a little longer._

  
  


* * *

  
  
 

_Knock, knock, knock._

“Mrmph,” Maddie grumbled and rolled over, squeezing her pillow tighter and scowling in her sleep.

A minute passed. _Knock, knock, knock, knock._

The slayer groaned and drowsily shook her head, eyes still closed. “…pr’tect the king…” she slurred, still unconscious. Her voice got louder as she began mumbling again.  “…don’t let the moths in…!”

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK._  “Maddie!”

Her eye cracked open, working hard to focus. As the door came into view, she heard the distinct sound of voices outside – annoyed voices at that. Her mouth stretched open in a yawn as she slowly sat up and cracked her neck. Again there was a loud knock at the door. She huffed and shouted back, “Hold on!”

As her feet met with the old carpet, she adjusted her gray pajama pants and navy tank top discreetly. She imagined this did nothing to fix the state of her bed hair or dark circles but didn’t seem to care as she opened the door. On the other side, she found a very impatient Stiles and curious-looking Scott. She gave them both a flat stare. “What?”

“We agreed to meet up today, remember?” Stiles asked, rolling his eyes.

Without missing a beat, Scott added, “You live in a motel room?”

“One: I didn’t think you were serious,” she said, moving her eyes from Stiles to Scott. “Two: Yes. Now go away.”

She was about to close the door when Scott stopped her with his foot. “We need your help.”

Maddie put in some serious thought about attempting to crush his foot to close the door but, after a few more seconds, her better judgment seemed to stop her. She wasn’t here to help them – if anything, she still had to report in that she found the two betas. She didn’t have time for this. “…With what?”

The boys exchanged worried glance before Scott let out a sigh. “The Argents think someone else is a beta who  _isn’t_  a beta. They might be in trouble.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Who?”

“Just…get ready. We’ll fill you in on the way,” Stiles replied, looking a bit exasperated.

Scott moved his foot away just in time for Maddie to slam the door shut. She sluggishly walked over to one of the drawers by the bed and was about to pull out some fresh clothes when her phone buzzed and flickered to life. She unplugged it from the charger and noted the name at the top of the screen. After reading the short message, her eyes widened and she threw the phone on the bed. She had to get ready quickly, she decided. It was more important to go with the two boys than ever.

On the bed, before the backlight flicked off again, the message read:

**Chris Argent:**   _PRIORITY – Might have lead on beta. Follow Jackson Whittemore._   **[Sat 10:03 AM]**

* * *

“So…you’re like a mercenary,” Scott said slowly from the front passenger side seat of the blue jeep.

Maddie sat in the back, willing herself to wake up more. It hadn’t taken her too terribly long to get ready and out the door, to be honest. She now spent most of the ride listening to the boys and picking at a hole in her favorite blue jeans. She had already resolved that she was here on the Argent family’s orders, not to help the two in front of her. She wasn’t even sure if she could trust them yet. At Scott’s assumption, she shook her head and tried not to sound too offended. “Not even kind of.”

“But you were hired by the Argents to kill the Alpha,” Stiles cut in, turning another corner.

“I was asked to help; we aren't  _hired_  for anything,” Maddie argued, absentmindedly examining her pulled back hair in the window’s reflection before turning her attention back to Stiles. “Hunters and slayers go back a long way, I guess.”

Off their confused looks, the slayer fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Scott thought for a moment before opening his mouth again. “So, uh, what _is_ a slayer anyway?”

Stiles glanced at her in the rear view mirror. “Yeah, I tried looking it up last night and all I got was the wikipedia page for a death metal band and a really questionable name choice for an espresso machine on Amazon. So, spill.”

“Right. It’s not going to make much more sense, though.” She took a moment to debate when to start, taking a breath. “At the beginning of -well- everything, monsters overran the whole world. So these some shamans decided they needed a protector. They found a girl, chained her to the earth, and infused her with the essence a demon.”

“Demons?” Scott turned around and gave her a shocked stare. “Like, you mean... _Demons_?!”

“ _Anyway_ ,” she went on as Scott turned back around, “since then, every generation has had a vampire slayer. They have enhanced strength, speed, agility, and senses. They were born with it but it stayed dormant until the the Slayer before them  died. Then they get all chosen and, well...they fight evil, protect people. It’d been that way for centuries, maybe more."

"Why all the past tense?" Stiles asked. "I mean, you're one of them so that's still happening, right?"

She was completely beyond done with this conversation. In fact, if it wasn't for the lack of an accessible door, she might've bolted already. Instead, she played with the hem of her faded black shirt and exhaled loudly through her nose. "...A few years back, things got really bad. Something was trying to kill off the entire slayer line before they were chosen. So the vampire slayer at the time got her friend, a witch-“

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Stiles muttered. “Witches? As in magic and wands and brooms?”

“ _Not_ Harry Potter witches, idiot,” she replied, annoyance rising in her tone. “Like I was saying, she got a witch to do a spell to awaken all of the slayers at once. We all inherited our powers at the same time and they eventually found us one by one.”

Scott hesitated before replying. “…how long ago was that?”

“Eight years.” Maddie looked away, out the window. She never liked thinking about that day; she wouldn’t wish that experience on her worst enemy. “So, after they found us, we eventually went to a facility to begin training.”

The beta wolf glances back for a second. “Wait, what about your family?”

Maddie didn’t look away from the window, a strange emptiness in her dark eyes. “Let’s just find Jackson.”

“I think we just did,” Stiles responded after a beat. “And we’ve got company.”

Maddie raised her stare to the windshield and her eyes widened. In the distance, were two figures, a Porsche and a familiar SUV. “…Allison’s dad.”

“Okay, okay…we just gotta act casual.” Scott glanced once more back at Maddie. “You know...normal.”

“Alright,  _why_  exactly did you look at me?” she snapped, this time definitely offended. “Besides, he knows I’m tailing Jackson – he  _told_ me to. If anything, you two should follow  _my_  lead for once.”

The werewolf’s brow furrowed and he frowned slightly. “How did you want us to do that?”

“By acting like you don’t know what the hell I am. Play dumb,” she continued just before the jeep stopped beside Jackson and Chris, a few feet away. Maddie took breath and poked her head through the front seats to look out the window with a wide smile. “Hey!”

“Yo,” Scott managed to say, barely hiding his nervousness.

“Sup!" Needless to say, Stiles laid it on a bit thick but it was an improvement.

Scott’s eyes were on Jackson when he added, “Everything okay?”

The smile on Chris Argent’s face certainly caused the girl quite a bit of suspicion as it contrasted quite a bit with the fear etched on Jackson’s face. Without missing a beat, Chris spoke. “Hey, Scott.” He nodded to the slayer. “Maddie.” He glanced then at Jackson and back at the teens in the car. “Your friend here was having car trouble. We’re just taking a look.”

“Ah,” was Stiles only reply.

Maddie feigned a mildly – and almost mockingly – awestruck expression. “Hope it’s not  _too_  bad.”

“There’s a shop right down the street; I’m sure they have a tow truck,” Scott added with a bit of concern.

“Yeah, you want a ride?” Stiles asked, nodding to Jackson. Scott opened his door silently as his friend went on. “Hey, c’mon Jackson – you’re way too pretty to be out here all by yourself.”

There was a tense silence for a moment before Jackson nodded and began to make his way over. Meanwhile, Maddie found herself watching the older man examine the engine – if that really was what he was doing. Scott unfortunately blocked her view as he got out to let Jackson in. Just as Jackson was about to though, Chris shouted over, “Hey, kids.”

They all stopped and looked over to see the eldest Argent reach through the driver’s window and start the car with no problem at all. Chris smiled slowly and just as suspiciously. “Told you I knew a few things about cars.”

He then walked away without another word. Maddie, who had been in the process of pulling out her phone, quietly sent a text.

_I’ll keep an eye on him._   **[Sat 11:48 AM]**

After Stiles exited the car, Maddie followed in suit and hurried to the other side.

Jackson turned his attention back to Scott, now indignant. “What, are you following me now?”

“Yes, you stupid freaking idiot. You almost gave away everything right there!” Scott shouted at the boy.

Clearly confused, Jackson asked, “What are you talking about?”

Scott’s rage continued to boil over. “He thinks you’re the second beta!”

“What?” Jackson asked.

“He thinks you’re me!” In that instant, Scott slammed his fist down on the hood of the jeep in sheer anger.

Stiles motioned to the car, visibly worried. “Dude, my jeep…”

“So, he’s not another beta?” Maddie cut in, looking at Scott and pointing to Jackson. The deadpan look from Scott seemed to answer the question and the slayer nodded, giving a thumbs up. “Good.”

“I can hear your heart beating from a mile away - literally!” Scott started up again with attention back on Jackson. “Now he thinks that there's something wrong, and now I have to keep an eye on you so he doesn't kill you too!”

Scott was about to hit the car again when Stiles grabbed his arm to stop him. “Okay, how about we step away from Stiles' Jeep?”

Jackson proceeded to get in Scott’s face, his own anger boiling up in his glare. “This is  _your_  problem, not mine, okay? I didn't say anything, which means  _you're_  the one that's gonna get  _me_  killed. Okay, this is your fault!” He pushed Scott into the jeep roughly and Maddie’s hand twitched at her side.

“Can we stop hitting my jeep?” Stiles asked, exasperated. Both Jackson and Scott motioned to start fighting when Stiles beat Maddie to the punch and stepped in between them. “Yo, alright, yo, guys, stop. Alright?”

“When they come after you, I won’t be able to protect you!” Scott yelled at Jackson. He withdrew a bit, his expression holding a hint of guilt as he looked at Stiles. “I can’t protect anyone.”

That was it. Maddie’s expression had, in that one sentence, turned into surprise. It wasn’t that she thought Scott was evil – clearly, but what she did know was the look on his face. It was familiar. She had seen it so many times from…it didn’t matter. What mattered was that this wolf had shown more compassion than the people she was helping, sans Allison. Hell, he saved her life.

Stiles also noted the Scott’s look, something dawning on him. “…Wait, why are you looking at me?”

Scott withdrew his worried gaze and looked back at Jackson, who was already ready with his rebuttal. “You know, now you have to do it.  _Get me what I want_ , and I will be fine protecting myself.”

“No, it won’t!” Scott snapped at the other boy, his eyes pleading with Jackson now. “Just trust me – all it does is make things worse!”

“Oh yeah, really?” Jackson sneered, the envy growing in her voice. “You can hear anything you want and run faster than humanly possible. Sounds like a  _real_  hardship, McCall.”

“Yeah, I can run really fast now - except half the time, I'm running away from people trying to kill me!” Scott shouted again, his tone pained as he went on. “And I can hear things like - like my girlfriend telling people that she doesn't trust me anymore right before breaking up with me. I'm not lying to you! It  _ruins_  your life.”

It was like a punch to the gut – like someone put into words something that Madeline had buried a long time ago. She wanted to go; she wanted to run away. Her thoughts were turning on her, yelling at her for planning on telling the Argents – people who looked at her like a wild animal – about Scott. It was too confusing and she needed to think clearly, to gain control over the situation again.

“It ruined your life,” Jackson shot back with a glare. She could hear it in his tone – the same thing she heard from the girls who spiraled out of control…that had to be dealt with. It made her sick to think about. This was too much. “You had all the power in the world, and you didn't know what to do with it. You know what it's actually like? It's like you turned 16 and someone bought you a Porsche when they should have started you out with a nice little Honda. Me?” His eyes narrowed. “I drive a Porsche.”

He began walking away and Maddie moved forward to go after him when a hand grabbed her arm. She whipped around to see Scott with a somber look in his eyes which made her own soften a bit. “Let him go.”

And – strangely enough – she did.

 

* * *

 

“This isn’t supposed to happen!” she shouted into the phone – more accurately, Xander on the other side of the phone. The day had ended and the sun had set, which typically meant patrolling. “I mean, I’m here to capture them and question the wolves, not _help_ them!”

“Well, let’s look at this objectively,” her Watcher began, sounding almost amused. “You questioned this Scott kid, right?”

“Yes!” she bit back.

Xander held back a laugh. “Okay, and did you get the info you needed?”

She frowned as she continued down the dark street, hoping she was headed the right way. “…Yeah. Sort of. But I didn’t even give it to the Argents! Wasn't that the point? I mean-“

“Did the mission statement say ‘give the info to the Argents’?” he asked, cutting her off.

As she turned the corner, she hesitated before answering. “…No.”

“And are you still after the crazy Alpha and the other beta?” he went on, the tone of his voice almost giving away the answer.

She sighed loudly. “Yes.”

“Then no harm, no foul.” She couldn’t help but be rather annoyed with the fact that he was trying to comfort her – or that it was working. She stayed silent as the man went on. “Take it from someone who’s been friends with a werewolf – if helping him feels like the right thing to do, then we’re all behind you.”

“I just…I don’t know yet,” she mumbled, eyeing the house number coming up on her left. “What if it blows up in my face?”

Xander laughed quietly. “It will most definitely blow up in your face. That’s what we like to call ‘on the job learning’. We’ll talk about it when we get there.”

“Are you kidding me? If I screw up, people could die!” she said, her tone harsh.

There was a long pause as Maddie made her way up the porch steps. “All I can tell you, Mads, is to trust your instincts. Do these kids seem evil?”

“Well, maybe Jackson…” she muttered before cutting herself off. She took a deep breath. “No. No, they don’t.”

Xander’s tone became warm. “Then do what you were born to do: protect them from whatever’s coming. It sounds like they could use a slayer on their side.”

“Yeah…” She found herself staring at the front door of a home that certainly was not as nice as the Argents’. “I gotta go, but…thanks.” Her hand rose to the doorbell. “I think I made my decision.”

“What can I say? I’m a pro at this.” She could almost  _hear_  the grin forming on his face and she shook her head. “Talk to you later, kid.”

“Bye,” she said quiet and hung up and in the same moment rang the doorbell. She could hear the footsteps on the other side after a few seconds and the door swung open.

Stiles nodded to her and stepped out of the way, an unreadable expression on his face. He sighed and closed the door. “Hi.”

“Did I come at a bad time?” she asked, her tone conveying just how uncomfortable she was.

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “We just gotta be quiet; my dad just went to bed.”

Maddie nodded as Stiles began walking over toward the dining room. Laid out and scattered all over the table were folders and papers. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Uh…so, did you find anything out?”

“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his head and looked down at the papers. “The murders are connected. All the people Peter Hale’s killed were connected to the Hale fire.”

“There was a fire?” She gave him a confused look. He grabbed a piece of paper from the table and handed it to her. Her eyes scanned over it as it listed the crime and the dead. Her insides coiled and a bitter laugh escaped her. “They never even told me.”

“Who?” Stiles replied, confused.

Maddie shot him a look. “Who do you think? The Argents.” She looked down at the table again as she set down the file, then picking up a strange series of pictures. All that was identifiable were the man’s clothes and hair, while his eyes seemed to have the same effect as headlights, covering up the rest of his face. The parts she did see were familiar. The sign he held did have a clear name.   _Hale, D._ “Hale…Derek Hale.” She looked up at Stiles. “The guy Scott blamed for the murders? He’s…he’s the beta who attacked me?”

Stiles’ mouth hung open and he looked like he was about to say something but decided against it.

“Which means he’s the same guy who showed up with you at the hospital and…” Her eyes widened as the piece continued to connect. “…he’s the one working with Peter. They’re  _family_?!”

“Hey, quiet, remember?” He glared at her. “It’s complicated.”

She glowered at the boy. “Then  _clear it up_ , Stiles.”

In that moment, a phone buzzed on the table. Stiles’ eyes shot over to it and quickly grabbed it and answered it. “Scott?”

There was a pause as Scott spoke on the other line. Maddie found herself preoccupied with the graphic photos and files, listing the deceased. They’re whole family…murdered. She couldn’t even imagine it. In her experience, she learned that family wasn’t exactly something she thought a lot about anymore. It was sad, sure, but she had learned to let that go but this… Were they a family of wolves? Was that it was that why they were killed? She didn’t know, but she had quite a bit to talk to Chris Argent about.

“Okay, yeah, we’re on our way,” Stiles said before hanging up. He sounded hurried and it was enough to return Maddie’s attention to him. “We gotta go.”

He rushed down the hall quickly as the slayer watched. “What?! What’s going on?”

“Peter’s with Scott’s mom!” He came stumbling back with his shoes on and a bag in his hands. Not just any bag though; it was her messenger bag. He handed it to her before rushed toward his keys. “You’re gonna need that.”

Her eyes were set ablaze with anger and disbelief. “ _You_  had this? How long?!”

“We can talk about that on the way, okay?” he added, head towards the door.

“You are so  _incredibly_  dead,” she growled, following him.

 He continued out the door with Maddie close behind. “Yeah, well, you can kill me  _after_  we stop the Alpha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slayer is really the name of an espresso machine. Thanks, google.


	14. Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth. Violence. Fireworks. “After all, there's a dance coming.”

_“Why?”_

_“…let’s just say if your react badly when you find out,” Kate paused, shutting the heavy metal door that hid the captive wolf. “…not good.”_

_Allison, keeping her stance stiff and her expression guarded, found her voice again with a clear tone of offense. “What do you mean not good?”_

_“They don’t think that you can handle it.” There was almost an air of amusement in the older hunter’s tone as they began to walk down the dark, concrete corridor. “They look at you and they see this frightened little girl who's gonna run crying in the corner when she finds out the truth. Someone who needs to be guarded…watched even.”_

_“What-…what are you talking about?!” Allison slowed her pace to a halt, her mind racing. “They wouldn’t…!” Her voice trailed off as her stomach twisted in knots. Her parents…they wouldn’t betray her confidence like that, would they? She was finding it hard to believe that already. The pain and the anger reached her eyes as she looked up at her aunt who had also stopped. “…Watched?”_

_There was something sympathetic in Kate own gaze as she put a hand on Allison’s shoulder gently. “Sweetie,” she began, her voice softer. “Your friend Maddie isn't a friend. Think about the last few weeks. There can be only so many coincidences before you gotta start wondering about some people, don’tcha think?”_

_Allison’s brown eyes held a questioning stare as she searched through her memory._

_**"Seems like your new friend has a good head on her shoulders. Maybe you should listen to her next time."** _

_"Madeline Hayes was hired by your father to watch you, because he didn't see someone he could trust with the truth. He - bless his heart - sees his little girl." Kate's eyes were still kind and soft but it felt so false and bitter as she spoke._  
  
Allison was beginning to feel sick as she stood there, thinking about each moment over and over. Thinking about why her parents would lie. Did they lie? Was her aunt lying? And who the hell was Maddie, really? Kate had already started moving again and speaking, causing Allison to snap back to reality and catch up.   
  
“Me - what I see - Natural talent.” She turned to her niece again, her eyes thoughtful although there was still something unreadable in them. “Allison, you said you wanted to feel more powerful, right?” Allison took a moment before she nodded vaguely. “Now's your chance.”

_They began walking again and the unease swarming through Allison’s every nerve forced her to find her voice again. “What am I supposed to do now?”_

_Even Kate’s gait seemed nonchalant as she led her niece to the entrance they had taken before. “Go to school, do your homework. Go to the Formal on Friday night. Be a normal teenage girl who doesn't know anything. Trust me to get everything ready for the next part.”_

_If Allison wasn’t unsettled before, she certainly was now. She didn’t want to be involved in any next part, but…something inside of her, something she didn’t recognize, forced her response out. “What’s the next part?”_

_Kate stopped and smiled at her, as if expecting the question. “You’re gonna help me catch the second beta.”_

_The youngest Argent felt her blood turn to ice in her veins._

 

* * *

 

The rest of the weekend had come and gone quickly after the close call on Saturday. It severely frustrated Madeline that the most she could do in front of Scott’s mom was glare threateningly at the Alpha – something that seemed to amuse him. She hadn’t even caught where Scott had gone after that until he contacted her late on Sunday – which led to an angry phone about not running head on into trouble on his own.

Although, it was becoming apparent that she couldn’t help anyone. Allison hadn’t left the house on Sunday according to her father and Maddie couldn’t seem to get in contact with her. No calls, no texts, nothing. She was beginning to think Allison was avoiding her, but she couldn’t imagine why. Things had been going smoothly since the debacle at the school on her first day. It had been weeks since then and they seemed to be getting along swimmingly. She couldn’t help but wonder though…

Monday was already drawing to an end when she passed a very nervous – or maybe frightened? - and sweaty Jackson talking animatedly to Allison. The young Argent caught sight of the slayer as she passed but quickly turned her attention back to Jackson when Maddie waved. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. Something was certainly up. Maddie had even spoken to Lydia more today – amiably, even. Of course, it was mostly because the petite brunette had actually worn the outfit picked out for her the previous Friday, to the strawberry blonde’s delight.

_“See? You look great!”_

_“I feel stupid.”_

_“Now if you just lighten up on the makeup…”_

_“You are **not**  touching my makeup!”_

Unfortunately, Lydia had much less invited Maddie to go shopping that afternoon and more accurately told her she was. Maddie, on the other hand, fought it until being informed that Allison was also going. She still had her mission and if that meant putting up with more shopping, then so be it.

The slayer sighed and spotted Scott and Stiles peeking around the corner, watching Allison.  _At least I’m a little more subtle about it._

“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll still be there,” she heard Stiles say.

As Maddie walked up to them, hands stuffed in the pockets of her new leather jacket, and raised an eyebrow at the boys. “Be where?”

Scott, looking gloomier than expected glanced at the girl. “The formal.”

“The what?” She tilted her head to the side slightly and squinted, as if he had been speaking another language.

“The  _formal_ ,” Stiles repeated, sounding a bit exasperated. At her continued blank expression, he rolled his eyes. “A dance in formal wear. You  _do_  know what a dance is, right?”

She glared at the boy, folding her arms. “I  _know_  what a dance is.” The slayer grimaced as she thought it over. “Formal wear? Like, fancy dresses?” They nodded silently and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Lame.” Finally she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I’ll go.”

“Wh- what do you mean you’ll  _go_?” Stiles gave her an incredulous look. “You can’t just  _go_.”

“He’s right. You kinda need a ticket to get in,” Scott said, disheartened. Stiles nodded animatedly and pointed to Scott as if to agree.

Maddie studied the two for a moment before spinning around, searching the hall. The boys looked at each other and then back to her in sheer confusion. Stiles narrowed his eyes on her suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

“Finding a ticket,” was the simple answer she gave before her eyes stopped on someone. In the distance she spotted a boy, but not just any boy. It was one of the boy who had been picking on that girl the week before.  _Erica, right?_  Not only that but she noted it was the tinier, pretty one that came on to her – the one who she took down first. He was idly chatting with a girl, all the while paying more attention to his phone. That was when Maddie finally whipped back around, the ghost of a smile on her lips as she held up her index finger. “Give me a sec.”

“That- that is  _not_  how you find a ticket!” Stiles called after her in a hushed voice. As she walked away, both boys found themselves giving worried glances. “Am I the only one that gets this  _sinking_  feeling when she smiles?” Stiles remarked, folding his arms. “Like something  _bad’s_  gonna happen?”

Scott slowly shook his head. “…no.”

“Good,” Stiles replied with a short nod.

They watched as the boy jumped when he saw her and how the girl seemed utterly confused. From a distance, it seemed like they were merely chatting, although the boy – another lacrosse player named Aaron – looked a lot like Jackson did moments ago. Nervous. Frightened. For a moment, it looked as if there would be an argument but after another few seconds, Aaron’s eyes widened and he fervently nodded. Digging through his bag, he handed her the ticket and Maddie’s smile widened slightly.

She strode back over, a bit more swagger in her step as she held out the ticket for the two to see. Both looked utterly astonished when Stiles spoke up. “What did you just do?”

“Not much,” she said with a shrug. “He had a debt to repay. I was collecting.”

Still surprised, Scott let out a quiet laugh in disbelief. Stiles, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes on her as his mouth hung open for a second. “…You frighten me.”

Maddie rolled her eyes and tucked away the paper in her jacket. “So, what ‘doomed to fail’ plan do you two have this time?”

 

* * *

 

There was no way Maddie could’ve felt any more awkward about her current predicament. Allison was certainly making it difficult to keep an eye on her thus far. As the afternoon progressed, the slayer had to ride with Lydia to the mall, fail at making small talk, and since entering Macy’s , resigned to keeping in the background. It was almost infuriating but what was even more difficult was not knowing how to fix it.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Maddie caught Lydia say, “You could smile, at least – both of you. Ever heard of the saying, ‘never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile’? Smile, girls.” She nudged the taller brunette. “Especially you, Allison. I'm buying you a dress.”

“I have to admit, as far as apologies go, that’s more than I expected,” Allison replied, her tone lightening a fraction.

Lydia, looking moderately accomplished, gave a nod. “Excellent.”

Allison, now smiling, looked at her friend in smug satisfaction. “…but not as much as I’m going to ask.”

“What? What's that supposed to mean?” Lydia shot the girl a look and even Maddie seemed a bit surprised.

“It means you're going to cancel on whatever dumb, ‘roided-up jock you said yes to and you're going to go with somebody else.” As Allison said this, Maddie found it a bit ironic, as she learned only moments ago in the car that Lydia’s date – who was indeed a dumb, roided-up jock – had canceled on her because he ‘sold his ticket’ just this afternoon and ‘dances were boring anyway’.

Lydia, who was certainly not going to reveal this anyway, was looking more worried by the second. “Who?”

As they stepped off the escalator, Allison turned to her left and the other two girls followed her gaze. “Him.”

Several feet away, standing at one of the glass counters, was Stiles, examining a bottle of perfume closely before spraying it in his own face. He flailed a bit and sneezed a few times before setting it down and looking around, probably to make sure no one saw that.

Lydia looked mortified as Allison’s smug smile grew, whereas Maddie was fighting back laughter at the thought of the Lydia and her new date. This didn’t last long at all and soon the petite brunette found herself laughing out loud for a second. The strawberry blonde whipped her head around to glare at Maddie, who quieted with a small cough at the end of her outburst and caught the glare. “What? I’m smiling.”

Allison, who seemed rather pleased with herself as her friend turned back to the boy with an uneasy glance, added, “Don’t frown, Lydia. Someone could be falling in love with your smile.”

Stiles turned to them and immediately noticed Lydia, giving her a goofy smile and a wave. Maddie withheld a snort of laughter at the girl's bitter expression.

 

* * *

 

“You’re not wearing black,” Lydia chastised Maddie for the fifth time as Stiles followed the two with a pile of dresses.

Maddie, of course, was carrying her own selections – all of which were dark colors, if not black. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “What? Why not?”

“Because you’ll look like you’re going to a funeral in that.” She pointed to the dress Maddie had just picked up.

Maddie shrugged, not entirely sure if that was as bad a point as Lydia thought it was.  “Then it has a dual purpose.”

Lydia took the dress from her and put it back on the rack. “I  _refuse_  to put all this work in for nothing. Choose a color.”

“...Fine,” Maddie replied, her annoyance seeping into her tone. She, without hesitation, grabbed for a dress on the same rack without looking at it for more than a split second. “Red.”

Lydia raised an eyebrow as she threw another dress into the pile that Stiles was carrying. “And why red?”

Without even a twitch of a smile, she said, “It’s functional.” She grabbed another red dress, not even bothering to examine it. “Just in case I need it to blend in with the blood of my enemies.”

Before her were two very different reactions to her comment. Stiles was gaping at her with wide, horrified eyes while Lydia rolled her own hazel eyes and sighed as she moved on. “I just don’t get your sense of humor.”

She added another dress to the pile, causing Stiles to speak up. “Oh - okay, so are you just gonna - try these on right now? All of them? Is this a 24 - hour Macy's?” He began to follow Lydia before stopping by Maddie. “Next time just get a giant neon sign that says ‘I’m a vampire slayer’ if you want to let the whole freaking town know.”

“It wasn’t the whole town. It was _Lydia_ ,” Maddie replied, her tone light and airy. It was true though; what harm would it be when the girl was practically swimming in the denial of how screwed up this town really was? “And she thought it was a joke anyway. Calm yourself.”

Stiles adjusted his grip on the plethora of formal wear he was carrying. “Yeah, well, you know what tact is? Learn it, live it – ”

“Hold on.” Maddie’s attention had left the boy as her skin began to prickle with goosebumps, like the air had filled with static electricity. Her head perked up as her senses began to go haywire. Something was there – something dangerous and most certainly supernatural. She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing every conscious thought on her surroundings and drowning out the soft buzzing of voices that bled together in the background. The static in the stagnant air shifted  sharply and her eyes snapped back open. “He’s here.”

“Who? Who’s here?” Stiles’ head darted around.

“The Alpha. How close by is Scott?” Maddie’s gaze shot over to the boy.

Still confused to an extent, Stiles managed to say, “Close. What, so is this another slayer thing? Spidey senses?”

“Er, um...sort of. Just go catch up to Lydia. I gotta check on Allison.” Maddie, without a look back rushed away through the racks and people. Under different circumstances, she might have rolled her eyes at the pop culture reference.

**“Attention shoppers. To the owner of a blue Mazda, license plate –”**

“Did she just say a blue Mazda?”

**“- 5768. Your car is being towed –”**

“Oh! That's my car.”

As she caught the voices, Maddie watched as Allison rushed away, leaving Peter standing alone. “I have to say, Scott, I continue to be impressed with your ingenuity. Just remember - You can't be everywhere all the time.”

Maddie was bristling behind him, watching him like a caged animal. “Good thing it’s not just him.”

“ _Good_ thing?” Peter slowly turned around, a smile spreading across his face. He eyed her closely, carefully. He stepped toward her, an almost predatory stare drilling through her and making her want to recoil. “Well, maybe for me. Two birds, one stone – you understand of course. Your kind happen to be  _the_  most infamous group of killers in history. Quite the title.”

“Slayer, not killer.” Her dark stare narrowed on him. “And I’m not in the mood for banter.”

“Hm. Pity.” He turned away and began to walk off. “I would stay and knock you off that pedestal but…let’s save the fireworks for the big events.”

She wanted to tackle him again, like the night in the school. She wanted it over. He'd already killed so many and there was no telling how much more death he would bring. Her free hand clenched together in a tight fist.

“After all, there's a dance coming.”

 

* * *

 

Dress? Check.

Shoes? Check.

Kick ass leather jacket that she’s never admit to Lydia that she adores? Check.

Bag full of weapons? Check.

“I look too made up,” she mumbled over the phone. “Like, I don’t know, a doll or something…”

“Said the girl wearing exactly seventy-five percent less eye makeup. You’ll look gorgeous and I expect a  _huge_  thank you,” Lydia’s voice came through the speaker of Maddie’s phone. “Did you get the manicure?”

“Yes…” She fought not to pick at the red polish on her nails.

“Pedicure?”

She looked down through the lace of the black heels and moved her toes. “Yes.”

“Hair done?”

“Yes, okay?!” Maddie flicked a large curl out of her line of sight before mumbling, “They’re going to kill me when they see that bill…”

“What?”

“My, ah, parents! They don’t know how much I spent,” she managed to half-lie. She looked in the mirror, marveling at her makeup and checking for any red lipstick on her teeth. She didn’t really like it – for her, at least. Sure, she looked nice, but there was an air of authority in looking intimidating instead. Like she could hide behind her usual blotted out eyes and people would cower. She'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy that part. She heaved a sigh.  _It’s just one night._

“They gave you your own card. If anything, they should’ve expected it. I mean, come on, you’re a  _teenage girl_.”

She flashed an astonished look over to the phone, as if Lydia could see it. “What’s it like to live in your world?”

“You’re about to find out.”

Maddie quickly slipped on her silver dangling earrings and adjusted her silver cross necklace. “Right. Meet you there.”

“I’m still not hearing a thank you, Madeline.”

“Thank you,” Maddie labored out.

“Or if you’re  _really_  grateful, you’ll switch dates with me.”

There was a short pause as the brunette blinked. “But…I’m not going with anyone.”

“My point exactly.”

“You’ll be fine.” Maddie rolled her eyes. “Just suck it up and deal with it. It’s one night.” She grimaced as the sentence left her lips. “Besides, it’s _Stiles_. What’s the harm?”

She heard Lydia sigh rather dramatically and a murmur of a voice in the background. “Well, hurry up and get to the school. I expect to see my job well done very soon.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure thing.” Maddie exhaled loudly as the line went dead. She smoothed out the material of her dress which was a deep a red as a cherry. She didn't hate it, per se. It was new, like everything in Beacon Hills had been thus far and while she found herself She quickly threw on her leather jacket and grabbed her messenger bag, wondering whether her oncoming nerve were because this was her first dance or because of what Peter had said earlier that week. As she reached the door of the room, she took a deep breath and opened it.

“Hmph. Time for some fireworks.”


	15. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Compliments. Attacks. Plans. "I don't owe you anything!"

Yes, Madeline knew what a dance was – as she had previous explained to Stiles.

No, she had never been to one.

As she walked into the gym she gawked at the decorated room. Pastel streamers were strewn all over the place and colored lights danced along the walls and floors as music pulsed from the large speakers. Her dark brown eyes floated over the students as she walked further into the room, trying to find someone she recognized. If she was lucky, it'd be Allison considering the imminent threat; if she wasn't so lucky... her eyes fell on a figure moving along the side of the bleachers. Her brows furrowed and she carefully made her way over.

As she got closer though, her guard lowered. There was Scott, crouched and feebly hiding along the wooden seats. He spotted her and gave a nod which she returned before continuing through the crowd. It wasn't long before she spotted more people she knew of course. Sitting at a table at the edge of the crowd were the bored figures of Lydia and Stiles. She took a deep breath in and strode over to them, plopping her bag down in an empty seat.

This seemed to call their attention and she gave a thin smile as she set her jacket down on the back of the chair. Lydia looked positively smug upon seeing her while Stiles gave the impression that he was still processing what he was seeing as he gaped at her. She ignored both reactions for the time being though. "Aren't you people supposed to have fun at these things?"

"It's about time," Lydia chided the girl but looked absolutely relieved. She analyzed Maddie carefully. "Spin."

Maddie folded her arms and snorted a laugh, feeling particularly self conscious. "I am not spinning."

The look Lydia gave her seemed to say differently of course. Eight years of training with someone of the strongest women on earth and she seemed to give into Lydia's ridiculous requests time and time again. She didn't even know why most of the time. Maybe she actually enjoyed hanging out with her – which was saying a lot since they never did anything Maddie liked. With that she huffed and did a full 360 degree turn, feeling rather foolish after wards. Lydia, pleased with herself, beamed at the girl. "See? You look amazing." She turned to Stiles. "Doesn't she look amazing?"

"Uh..." Stiles' eyes widened at Lydia and then at Maddie. He cleared his throat before finally speaking again. "Psht, yeah! You, uh...you look...y'know...what she said."

Lydia rolled her eyes at the response and Maddie gave a stiff nod before sitting down. Maddie turned to the other girl. "Have you seen Allison yet?"

This did not seem to give a good reaction. Lydia's eyes darted over to Maddie, wide and guarded. "She's somewhere in here with Jackson, I assume."

"Ah," was Maddie's only response, deciding to drop the subject altogether.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

And it was. It couldn't have been more than forty minutes and at least fifteen ago, Stiles and Lydia had left to dance. It had been an interesting exchange to say the least. In fact, it was almost sweet. This was of course followed by a near capture of Scott by Coach Finstock. The hijinks were entertaining for a time, but as Maddie watched the couple on the floor, even she had a sinking feeling. It was one she hadn't felt in quite a while and it was hardly noticeable at the moment – but it was there. Envy. Everyone was on the floor dancing now as she sipped her punch – which tasted funny to begin with.

As she pushed it away, she noticed Lydia zoom by the table and out of the gym. She turned around to find Stiles slowly walking back to the table and slumping down into a chair. Maddie raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Where's she headed?"

He was staring a hole through the table but seemed to catch the question and exhaled loudly. "To find Jackson."

She nodded vaguely. "Right."

Minutes passed in silence as the music slowed. It was then a boy with ash blond hair stumbled over to the table – more specifically to Maddie's side. He was sweating so much that it stained the collar of his white button up and his mouth wore a giant grin as he leered at her. "Wanna dance?"

Maddie blinked once, her expression unchanging. "No."

"Come on. Loosen up," he drawled, his bright blue eyes moving down her form.

Feeling mildly irritated and just a bit sickened, the corners of her mouth tugged downward. "You're disgusting."

The boy was clearly intoxicated as he moved closer to her. "Pfft…the boys were right. You know, I heard you had this butch rep but I had no clue you were such a bi-"

"Hey." Stiles had stood up, to Maddie's horror. He walked over to the unknown boy, trying to look as intimidating as possible. "She said no, dude. Move on."

"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" Maddie asked just loud enough to hear, the shock creeping into her voice.

Both boys ignored it and the drunk one grinned. "Really, Stilinski?" Stiles didn't move or say anything; he simply continued to try and stare him down. The boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever, spaz. She wasn't worth it anyway."

He stumbled away, bumping into random people until he disappeared. Once he was out of sight, Stiles meandered back to his seat, all the while Maddie stared at him in disbelief. It took him another second to realize this as he looked over at her with a blank expression. "What?"

"…why did you do that?" She looked at him as if she were trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle. In all honesty, that was exactly what he was to her.

He shrugged. "He was making an ass out of himself and you looked annoyed. I thought I'd help."

There was a long pause and she almost immediately regretted the words that tumbled out of her mouth. "...I could've handled it."

"Fair enough," he said with a nod. "Next time I'll let you knock him out and reveal your secret identity to a room full of people."

Part of her wanted to argue with him more, but she decided against it. "...thanks, I guess."

"No problem." There was an air of sarcasm in his tone – as if that was a surprise – but for a second, he almost seemed sincere. A strangely comfortable silence enveloped the two as Maddie checked her phone and Stiles watched the door, presumably for Lydia to return. As Maddie sighed and scrolled through her contacts, debating whether or not to check in with HQ to pass the time, Stiles threw her a sideways glance. Even out of the far side of her vision, it seemed like there was a moment of debate in his head as he tapped his fingers on the table to the beat of the song playing. He opened his mouth to speak once or twice but shut it again, veering his attention back to the door. Another minute passed when the boy found his voice again. "She was right, by the way."

 Maddie's head perked up when he spoke and she turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm not exactly an expert on these things but you, uh..." His light brown eyes darted from her to the crowd. "You look nice."

There weren't many things in Maddie's life that surprised her anymore. There was even a point when she was sure no one – no human being, at least - could get an edge on her. Yet, here she was, mouth slightly hung open, staring at Stiles as if he was missing his head. It seemed so...unimportant. Who cared how she looked? Well, maybe she did. A little bit. It was alarmingly pleasant to have someone else point it out and a bit humiliating to admit that to herself. Another moment longer and a light, almost embarrassed laugh left her and the corner of her lips curled into a half smile. She looked down at her outfit once more before looking over at the boy again. "...Thanks, Stiles."

He gave his own half-hearted grin before they both returned their attention to the people dancing. Another prolonged silence filled the space between them until Stiles spoke up again. "You didn't want to..." As Maddie turned to him again, he nodded in the direction of the dance floor.

Maddie's eyes widened in horror and she fervently shook her head. " _No_ , no, no...Not at all."

"Good," he said immediately and gave a nervous laugh. "Heh, dodged that bullet!"

Suddenly the silence had turned awkward around them and, after a full minute, Maddie stood. She gathered her bag and jacket, slipping it back on. "We should split up and look for Lydia."

"Yeah, yeah we should." Stiles quickly stood up as well and they both walked to the open gym doors. Just as they walked through them though, a disheveled figure stepped towards them. Now illuminated in the purple hue of the festive lights pouring out of the gymnasium, Jackson stood before them – _alone_. Stiles seemed particularly annoyed by this. "Where the hell have you been? Did Lydia ever find you?"

There was something suspiciously off about how Jackson carried himself. There was no air of drunkenness or even his usual arrogance. No, this Jackson was ever so slightly hunched over and his blue eyes held the slightest hint of worry. He released a breath, although it sounded a bit constricted – as if he couldn't think of what to say.

Although Maddie had an inkling where this was going, Stiles didn't seem to quite get it yet as he gave a confused shrug. "What? What's wrong?"

The boy struggled to speak. "I - I was out behind the school and I - I was - out –"

Stiles' eyes narrowed. "What happened?" Anger was becoming prevalent in both his and the girl's stares at the jock. "Jackson...what did you do?"

"We don't have time for this." Maddie's head whipped around, her eyes a mixture of rage and concern. "We need to find Lydia."

Stiles nodded, his glare still boring into Jackson's skull. "I'll check the field."

"Call if you find her. I'll make sure this one comes with me." In a flash, her hand gripped the lapel of Jackson's suit, pulling him down to eye level. "Before he causes any more trouble."

Without another word, they went their separate way, down opposite ends of the dark hallway. Maddie ignored Jackson's struggling and incessant whining as she shouted down the empty corridors for Lydia.

"A-are – are you like them?" Jackson managed out. He swallowed as she continued to drag him along. "A werewolf?"

She silently went on, out a pair of side doors into the cool night air.

"What are you?!" the boy shouted, his words coming out in a mixture of fear and slurring. "Say something!"

Something in Maddie snapped. With all of her strength, she threw Jackson into the side of the building, his back hitting the bricks roughly. As he slumped down to the ground and looked up at her, horrified, she sneered. "I am sick and tired of _answering to people_ in this god damn town! I don't owe you an explanation! I don't owe _you_ anything!" Jackson attempted to pick himself up but Maddie planted her heeled foot firmly on his chest and pushed him back down. "The only person who doesn't act suspicious around me is unfortunately has a soft spot for selfish jackasses – and because of that is somewhere out there alone. _In danger_. And we are going to find her – without another _syllable_ from you."

Before she could even move her foot, her phone buzzed urgently in her jacket pocket. She quickly pulled it out and pressed the large green 'answer' button on the touchscreen. "Did you find Lydia? Is she alright?"

"Y-you need to get to the lacrosse field now. She's hurt, Maddie."

Her throat tightened. "What do you mean she's hurt?!"

"The Alpha – he...he attacked her. Maddie, he bit her." There was a short break as if he was trying to catch his breath and Maddie felt her stomach drop. "Get here quick. Get her to the hospital."

"Right. We're coming." Without another word, she hung up and stuffed her phone in her pocket once more. She moved her foot and picked Jackson up with ease. "Call 911 - _now_."

And they were off.

* * *

Maddie had gone as fast as she possibly could while dragging Jackson behind her and feeling her phone go off several times in her pocket. He seemed to keep up a bit better, but that seemed like a fair reaction after their previous conversation. As they neared the field, illuminated by the surrounding lights, they both noted something in the center of it. On the ground was a person. Maddie, on instinct, let go of Jackson and ran the rest of the way over. There Lydia was, bloodied and unconscious – and Maddie had stopped in her tracks.

She was in stock still - frozen in place as her heart beat quicker and louder, becoming deafening in her eardrums. This part she remembered. She remembered the blood and the terrible silence, like the sounds of the whole world had been muted all at once. She remembered a body lying motionless in the rain. She remembered screaming and wanting to run forward. Wanting to do something when it was too late. _It couldn't be too late. Not now._ She reached to perhaps stop the wound on the girl's side that was bleeding profusely but her hand stopped short of it. Madeline couldn't help but find herself breathing more rapidly. It was too soon. _This_ was too soon. She wasn't ready. It had only been six months.

Jackson finally made his way closer, fear etched in his features. "Wh- What? Is she okay? Is she going to-"

He was promptly cut off by Maddie's fist crashing with his jaw. She didn't really know how hard she had hit him but it was enough to send him to the ground, which satiated her rage for only a second. She wanted to scream, to keep hitting him, but she instead narrowed her gaze on him. As she started to speak, her voice came out low and dangerous. "You better _pray_ that she lives. Because if she doesn't, you're going to need a _hell_ of a lot more than werewolf strength to stop me from coming after you."

For the fifth time, her phone buzzed. Her hand finally reached into her pocket and yanked it out, answering it in a feral tone when she saw the name. "What?!"

**"You're needed at the house. We have a problem."**

"Yeah, well, there's a dying girl outside of a high school that needs medical attention," she snapped at the eldest Argent. "That's more of a priority."

"I'll take her," Jackson managed to say weakly. There was still anger boiling over in Maddie's gaze but Jackson pulled himself to his feet, standing a considerable bit away from the brunette. "I swear to god, I'll get her right to the ambulance."

Maddie was about to argue it when Chris' voice cut her off.

**"Hayes, we know about Scott."**

She felt her chest tighten.

* * *

After begrudgingly leaving the scene and heading back to her motel room to change into normal street clothes, Maddie found herself at the Argent's doorstep in less than an hour. She'd left her bag in the room and opted for her favorite hand axe – although the most important thing on her was her phone. She wished someone would contact her to let her know what's going on. She still had no idea where Scott or Stiles went – and she felt that she would certainly need to contact them if the debriefing went like she knew it would.

The door opened and she was met with the cold stare of Allison's father. Her own expression seemed to match his though – full of suspicion and distrust. He let her in and the girl walked into the living room where Allison's mother, Victoria, stood. On the floor were broken shards of ceramic – a sign that did not bode well.

"Is Allison here?" Maddie asked distantly.

Victoria's stare hardened. "I hardly think that that's any of your business."

Maddie didn't bother to face the woman. Chris finally entered the room and stopped several feet from the teenager. His intent stare bore through her as he spoke. "Did you know that Scott McCall was one of the Betas?"

"Yes," Maddie answered, leaving no reservations in her tone. After the past week, she couldn't seem to care.

"How long?"

"Two weeks."

" ** _How long were you planning on not informing us?_** " Victoria's voice boomed and echoed around the room.

Maddie finally met the woman's eye. "How long were _you two_ planning on not telling me about the Hale fire?!"

"We weren't even aware that it had _anything_ to do with the murders." Chris' voice got louder as well. "The fact of the matter is you work for us-"

"I DON'T WORK FOR _ANYONE_!" Maddie shouted, taking a threatening step towards the man. "I was chosen to protect the _innocent_ , not who you deem worthy! _Nowhere_ in the Slayer lore or Watcher's Diaries does it say that we're hired help!" She pointed an accusing finger at Victoria. "So I'm not the old Council's lapdog," she continued, moving her narrowed eyes to Chris once again, "and I'm not your hit woman!"

"Is that why Allison knew we planted you?" Chris asked, his voice still accusatory but calmer. "Did you tell her something?"

"I didn't tell her anything. I don't know how she knows," Maddie said, her voice was low and shaky.

Victoria's stare flicked over to her husband. "...I told you. I said not to bring the Slayers into this and you did." The redheaded woman glowered at the teenage girl. "And she's been nothing but trouble from the start."

"I'm not here for your approval. I'm not even here to give you information." Maddie shrugged her shoulders and folded her arms. "I've fought the Alpha werewolf twice and I _intend_ on stopping him – which I'll do with or without you. Now, you can ask for my help or you can make the mistake of standing in my way. That's up to you. Either way, you're not going to stop me and you're not going to lay a hand on Scott McCall."

"Why are you so hell bent on protecting him?" Victoria spat out, her voice drenched in spite.

A bitter laugh escaped Maddie's lips. "Because he saved my life..." Her near black eyes slowly went from the floor to the woman. "...and you threatened it."

She strode past the Argents and made her way to the door. Her hand was barely touching the handle when she heard Chris call out to her. "...Wait." She stopped, although her hand didn't move until he spoke again. "We have a plan."


	16. Alpha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interrogations. Mercy. Fire. “Oh god... what did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Recommendation ["Run This Town/Posthumus Zone" - JAY Z, Rihanna & E.S. Posthumus]

 

Vaguely, Madeline wondered how she got here.

Well, not here per se – as in not the hospital they recently arrived at. Chris Argent had driven there with her and three very large, dopey men. Alas, they weren’t there for their intellect.

It was more existential - the wondering, that is. What she was wondering was how exactly she got here, to this moment. She assumed most teenagers had this crisis at some point, but probably not because they’re super-human-monster-hunters that sometimes align themselves _with_ monsters. That’d be ridiculous. Either way, it was a passing thought that slipped away from her as they made their way through the ER. Instead, she was plagued with several other thoughts:

_**1.**  Where the hell are Scott and Stiles?_

_**2.** I should’ve punched Jackson harder._

_**3.**  Much harder._

_**4.**  Why didn't I keep an eye on Lydia to begin with?_

_**5.**  Screw this town._

The last thought that perturbed her was her briefly wondering why the men she’d traveled with were now surrounding her. The only two explanations she could think of were that they were protecting her or keeping her under control. Regardless of the reason, she felt like an animal pacing back and forth in her iron cage. Maybe that’s how they felt too. Were they trying to hold her captive? Was that part of the _brilliant_ plan? The tiniest flicker of menace lit in her stare as it focused on the graying man ahead of her.

She knew why they were here though and she wasn’t looking forward to it. If anything, she knew what she had to do if she didn’t agree with them on the on their means of getting what they needed. Her fingers smoothed over the cool metal of her hand ax idly and knew instantly that the hunters trailing behind her had seen it. Of course there was also the passing thought of, _Four of them and one of me. I can take them._

This line of thought didn’t last long, though – in fact, it came to a screeching halt at the mere sound of chatter in the distance. Not just any chatter…

“Alright, did you bring the Porsche?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’ll drive.”

She shoved through the wall of men and found herself staring at the disheveled forms of Jackson and Stiles. Urgency and relief battled for dominance in her head, weirdly glad to see them but thinking about how bad their timing was. Maddie stood next to Chris Argent, breathing to calm herself as the hunter’s voice flooded the near-empty hall. “Boys.” His tone was collected and suspiciously friendly, as was the pleasant smile on his face. His eyes told a different story entirely. “I was wondering if you could tell me where Scott McCall is.”

This was a terrible plan. In fact, if anyone had answered her calls, this plan wouldn’t exist. The two reactions to her presence there were expected. Jackson, with his purple and swollen jaw, conveyed an alarming amount of nerves surfacing. She couldn’t say she wasn’t satisfied with this reaction, to be fair. On the other hand, Stiles gave her a mildly shocked stare which withered into something almost accusatory. She was almost sorry but shook it off. Chris snapped his fingers to regain the boys’ attention.

Stone faced even through his obvious fear, Stiles answered, “Scott McCall…? Haven’t seen him since the dance.” The noise Chris made was nearly inaudible and held no inkling that the man believed the words her just heard. Stiles could even note that but didn’t look away for an instant. “Jackson, you?”

Jackson’s deer caught in the headlights expression was telling enough without his string of indiscernible sounds that would’ve formed words had he the courage to finish them.

Stiles sighed and muttered, “Oh, for the love of god…”

Chris gave a slight nod and the men behind him pushed past Maddie, grabbing the two teenage boys. Maddie’s eyes widened and she marched in front of the eldest hunter.  “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Getting information,” Chris said. There wasn’t the slightest bit of emotion in his voice and there was something dangerous about that.

“Not by beating up kids!”

“Huh. That bruise looks fresh on Jackson. Tell me something - was that from the Alpha or was that from you?”

Maddie pursed her lips and glared.

Chris moved past her and into the abandoned room the boys had been thrown in. Maddie rushed in behind him, gripping her weapon so tightly that she could feel the grooves painfully indenting on her palm. As she entered, the Chris locked the door behind her and looked back at the boys. “Let’s try this again. Where is Scott McCall?”

There was a thick silence that followed. Maddie turned her attention to the teenage boys. “Just tell them! I swear Scott will be okay.”

Stiles gave her a hard, guarded look and it felt like looking in a mirror. “I. Don’t. Know.”

This response seemed to send Chris flying off the handle because he grabbed Stiles roughly and slammed him against the locked door. “Let me ask you a question, Stiles. Have you ever seen a rabid dog?”

Maddie had made the slightest move to pull them apart but stopped herself.

“No, but I’ll put it on my to-do list if you just let me go,” the snide comment escaped Stiles.

Chris’ eyes were ablaze but his demeanor didn’t seem to reflect that anger. “Well, I have. And the only thing I've ever been able to compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?”

“Not really. No offense to your storytelling skills.”

“He tried to kill me, and I was forced to put a bullet in his head.” Allison’s father had gotten louder graudually as the veins in his neck protruded. “The whole while that he lay there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me, still trying to kill me, like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath. Can you _imagine_ that?”

Stiles paused for only a moment. “…No. And it sounds like you need to be a little bit more select –“

Both of Chris’ hands slammed against the wall on either side of Stiles’ head. The hunter looked like he was about to throttle the boy before a hand yanked him away.

“Hey!” Maddie shouted, pushing to stand in front of Stiles. She now stood between the two,  her eyes appearing black in the darkness of the room as she glowered at Chris. “Back off.”

“Thanks, Mads,” Stiles breathed.

“Shut up, Stiles,” Maddie said, as more of a knee-jerk reaction to anything he would say while she was busy.

Chris exhales a long, annoyed breath before his voice boom throughout the room. “Did Scott try to kill you on the full moon?! Did you have to lock him up?!”

“Yeah, I did. I had to handcuff him to a radiator. Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?” There was still that damned air of defiance as Stiles spoke.

This seemed to get an entire different reaction from Chris. He seemed to actually try to calm himself down. “I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that.”

“Oh, right. Derek said you guys had a code. I guess no one ever breaks it.”

“Never.”

“What if someone does?” Stiles asked a bit ominously.

“Someone like who?”

“Your sister.”

There was a pause but as Maddie turned to Chris, she noticed the look on his face was concerned but not surprised. A voice echoed in her head and she paled after another second.

_“Kate and Allison are on the road already.”_

_…Allison._

 

* * *

 

It had been precisely seventeen minutes.

In that time, Chris had left the hospital and Maddie had followed much to his chagrin. A deafening argument had followed this and continued in the car for the entire ride. Although nothing at all was resolved, Maddie insisted that she go with him to the Hale house as back up, an idea he hated but had no time to refute. They found themselves walking quickly through the woods now in silence as Chris went on attentively and Maddie gripped her ax tightly.

This was only her second time that deep into the woods around Beacon Hills. She hadn’t been this way at all though but found it familiar.

She quickly glanced up at the sky. The moon was neither full nor close but the trees and the dead leaves made an almost identical backdrop compared to her dream weeks ago. It made her uneasy as she thought back to the clawed hand that tightened around her throat and the voice – the low voice that told her that time was up. Her time? Maybe. It didn’t matter so long as the Alpha went down with her, though. Even if that terrified her, which it did to the point that she had to keep reminding herself why she was doing this.

The trees became sparse and she spotted something ahead. Three figures – two on the ground and one standing – were outside of a charred, decrepit house and the one stand was holding a something. They got closer and Kate came into view, holding a gun at Scott. Kate, who had diminished Allison’s trust in Maddie, who looked at her in disgust the night of the dinner – this woman was about to kill a teenage boy. Maddie tried to rush forward but was stopped by Chris’ hand put out in front of her. Instead, he got closer and took out his own gun but kept it at his side.

“Kate!” Chris called out as they neared the group. Allison and Scott, turned to them in shock and relief but Kate’s expression showed nothing but annoyance. There was definite pain on the older hunter’s face, as if the scene was the proof he needed but never wanted. “I know what you did. Put the gun down.”

There was something familiar about this.

_“Oh god... what did you do?”_

“I did what I was told to do,” she spat back.

_“...What I was **called** to do. What we were chosen for.”_

_“He had a soul, Marie! That is **not** what we do! This…is murder!”_

Maddie shook the memory of her friend's broken and betrays face away violently, forcing herself back into the present as Chris spoke. “No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were _children_ in that house, ones who were human. Look what you're doing now. You're holding a gun at a sixteen year old boy with no proof he spilled human blood.” His typically unfeeling blue eyes held concern as he watched his sister. “We go by the code - _Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent.”_

Maddie thought she heard Allison mutter something but didn’t quite catch it. What she did catch, on the other hand, was Kate beginning to squeeze the trigger which caused Maddie to raise her ax in preparation for attack.

Chris seemed to note both actions and lifted his own gun, finger steady on the trigger. “Put the gun down…” He fired a shot, narrowly missing his sister and hitting the tree behind her. “…before I put you down.”

Hesitantly, Kate lowered her gun and Scott let out a ragged breath in relief. It, unfortunately didn’t last long as a creaking came from the old house. It was the type of sound you might hear in a horror film that would send chills up your spine – and even Madeline would honestly say that it did. The cracked open doorway was pitch black but she knew that feeling; if she focused hard enough, she could even hear its breathing.

Chris kept his gun level and still as he looked at the threshold. “Allison, get back.”

Kate raised her gun to the door and Scott got up, facing it. Maddie pivoted to face the run down house and took a few steps forward. Both she and Scott didn’t move back as the hunters and Allison did. The frightened, fair brunette kept backing up as she found her voice, although it was shaky and fragile. “What is it?”

Maddie and Scott threw each other sideways glances just as the boy’s eyes began to glow a brilliant golden yellow. “It’s the Alpha.”

In that moment, without warning something came rushing out of the door in a blur, circling them. They admittedly tried to keep up but before they could, it knocked Chris roughly off his feet. Soon after, Allison fell as well. Next was Maddie, who stumbled back and hit something sharp and hard on the back of her head.

It seemed like mere seconds that she was out, but when Maddie stood again, the Alpha, Allison, and Kate were gone. It was then she heard a short but pained yelp coming from the house. Dazed still and unsteady, she got to her feet and ran as she heard Peter’s voice.

“I don’t know about you, Allison, but that apology… didn’t sound very sincere.”

In a flash, Maddie came bounding around the corner and spear tackled Peter. It wasn’t like the first time at the school though – it was her full weight and power as she felt her feet leave the ground and her now-braced shoulder collided with his mid-section. Peter was taken off of his feet as well and, in no time at all, Maddie sprang to her feet again and took a defensive stance. Peter managed to shake it off, although he now looked like Maddie still felt.

He laughed, his voice boisterous and full of vigor. “There she is! I knew there was a Slayer in there somewhere.”

“Allison, get out of here,” Maddie said, her tone calm but urgent. “ _Now_.”

Allison backed away a few steps as two figures came out of the shadows of the room. Both Scott and Derek began to circle, their faces morphed and eyes glowing, as Scott added forcefully to a frightened Allison, “ _Run_.”

As Allison bolted, all three moved forward quickly to attack Peter. He tossed both Scott and Derek at once before ducking an attack and hitting Maddie so hard that she when flying into a wall.

Both wolves and Maddie got up still and delivered strike after strike, kick after kick. Peter’s face began transforming – elongating into a long snout for only a moment before going back to normal. This happened several times in a row as the others landed their blows successfully. It didn’t last for long though, and after a while Peter managed to systematically take out all three for more than a few seconds. Each, in their own respects, began to get up slowly as what hovered over them now was the beast Maddie remembered from the beginning – the monstrous Alpha with piercing red eyes. It roared thunderously before picking up Scott and throwing him through the front facing window. Maddie ran to attack, slashing up the creature’s back with her ax mercilessly as dots of blood spattered across her face.

She ducked its backhand and suddenly drove her weapon into it’s should, causing it to scream. It took force to dislodge the weapon but when she finally did, the Alpha grabbed her by the throat tightly.

It was there that she wondered if it had been him – this whole time it might've been Peter in the dream and it would make perfect sense. Her eyes widened as she felt her head start to get cloudy and her vision started to darken. There was a hesitation from him though and suddenly, he threw her through the now glass-less window. She hit the ground and rolled onto the leaves to break some of the impact.

Watching, dizzy and weakened from where she laid on the ground, Maddie felt utterly helpless as she failed to get up immediately. The Alpha had grabbed Scott by his jacket but Scott managed to kick himself away from it. The monstrous wolf shook it off and got up, ready to attack when in that instant, he became illuminated and a horn went off.

In the distance stood Stiles and Jackson and before anyone could possibly react, Stiles threw something at the beast. The Alpha caught it, revealing a glass beaker, and let out a roar in the boy’s direction.

Stiles looked not only disappointed but utterly horrified. “ _Oh_ , damn.”

“Allison!” Scott had crawled over to the discarded bow on the ground and threw it to the youngest Argent hastily. In seconds, she girl had an arrow pointed at the monster walking towards her. The Alpha went to throw the beaker but Allison had already released the arrow, which went directly through the glass container.

Instantly, its arm was engulfed entirely in flames. Another second passed as it flailed and a second container hit the creature, coming this time from Jackson. The rest of the wolf’s body ignited and it cried out in pain before turning and charging at Allison. Scott kicked Peter sharply in the other direction and the flames began to die out as they consumed him.

Maddie struggled to regain her footing, shaking her head harshly as she stumbled into a tree to lean on. She breathed in again and noticed Scott and Allison on the ground. She sighed and limped towards the car, sitting on the hood as Jackson and Stiles stood on either side. A shocked Jackson turned a bit indignant as he saw this. “Hey! Get your ass off my car!”

Still watching the world spin far too fast and tilt in too many directions, she mustered up a rather menacing glare and waved her ax at him slightly. “Make me, rich boy.” Jackson’s face twisted up in a mixture of horror and annoyance but Maddie was far too out of it to care. She squinted at the charred body in the distance. “So that’s what a Molotov cocktail does?”

Stiles threw her a sideways glance, eyeing the matted blood in her hair and the weakness in her voice, and seemed to make up his mind about something. Finally, he nodded. “Yup.”

She tilted her head, which turned out to not be such a great idea. “Huh. Thought it’d be cooler.”

His brow creased and he gestured to the flames still licking the sides of the trees and shrinking on the ground. “What? That was _pretty_ cool.”

She waved him off, wishing she could go back to her crappy motel room already and make the call to go back to headquarters. The job was done, after all. In fact, she was going to ask if he was dead yet – clearly an effect of her injury, as usually she’d simply go up and do it herself.

Then something strange caught her eye. A dark figure slowly moved towards the remains of Peter and Maddie squinted to see who or what it was. She slowly stood again, leaning heavily against the silver Porsche for support. She took careful, measured steps toward them, mumbling, “…wait…no…no, you...”

The word _can't_ became ashes on her tongue before it left her mouth. People were talking. Scott, maybe? It sounded like him and her seemed most assuredly distressed. Someone else was talking. It was quiet and frail – but full of rage.

“I can _smell it on you_.”

Scott was crying out and the world wouldn’t stop spinning. Maddie fell against a tree and, in the moonlight, saw a clawed hand raised up. She wanted to yell, to stop them, to something – but she heard a slash. Soon after there was a gurgling and choking sound and, with a moment of full clarity, Maddie saw Derek Hale turn around. He eyes glowed blood red as he stared at Scott.

_**“I’m the Alpha now,”**_ he bellowed, his voice much lower and almost unearthly. _Demonic._

Her heart pounded furiously in her chest and, with the pain in her head too demanding, she gave into to the darkness.

**Continued In Act 2**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hm...why did Peter hesitate? All will be explained as the series continues! Thanks for the support for Act One! Stay tuned right here for Act Two! ALSO -- just above is the Buffy-inspired opening credits to act two! Lemme know whatcha think!


	17. Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ACT II.
> 
> Questions. Favors. Ambush. "It's always real."

_When I was younger, I always wanted to be…something. Something great, I guess. Stronger, faster, smarter. Exceptional. Someone that would never be considered weak or breakable ever again. Then I was called. I was, for lack of a better word, chosen._

_I thought I would become something greater, that my life would mean something. Something’s better than nothing, right?_

_No. This isn’t something. Maybe Marie was right. We're not special or important._ _I’ve become nothing more than a shadow. No, even worse: a weapon._

_So, then, why not decide to be a great weapon? I mean, what else am I good for? I’ve made myself into this - the instrument of destruction. That’s what they see, at least. For all the cold steel framing I’ve built, there’s nothing inside. I’m hollow. I’ve got no real interests or hobbies. No friends. Nothing to really call mine. Instead I have slaying and training and a stupid ax._

_For everything I’m told I’m exceptional for, in reality I’m worth nothing to anyone. I’m expendable; a faceless soldier._

_We are alone. I am alone – and my mission was done._

_So, then, why did I feel the need to stay in Beacon Hills?_

_Easy enough._

_It had been a month and I hadn’t run into a single vampire._

* * *

**“Not one?”**

Even the redhead on the other line sounded worried now. Then again, leave it to Willow Rosenberg to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Maddie plopped down in a chair, across from Chris Argent, who even seemed mildly intrigued by the news. Maddie sighed. “Not hide nor fang.”

**“Oh boy.”**

“There hasn’t been a death specifically caused by severe blood loss from neck wounds in years,” Chris said, his voice low and tired. It had been days since the death of his sister, Kate, and the stress of it all could easily be seen on his face.

The phone had been set on the center of the coffee table and put on speaker. Maddie looked at the device as if she was seeing the witch right in front of her, avoiding her gaze. “So, wait…is that a bad thing?”

**“Well, usually I’d go with a big, fat ‘no’, but Beacon Hills isn’t exactly a mystical-energy-free zone. Vampires _should_ be drawn to it. ”**

“Maybe it’s the wolves,” Maddie replied, feeling a cold stare on her immediately but not looking over. It sounded flimsy and weak, even to her.

**“All two of ‘em?”**

The teenager rolled her eyes at the sarcastic remark. “Right. So what do we do?”

 **“That’s kind of the thing, Mads,”** Xander spoke up on the other line. **“The mission’s over. Finito. Done.”**

“But the vampires!” Maddie argued, her voice growing louder. She didn't even know why she was arguing. She wanted to go home, not that San Francisco was home. It was never home. Still, she couldn't ebb her rising worry. “And Derek Hale! There’s still an Alpha in town. The threat didn’t just disappear into thin air. And Allison! Isn’t it my job to protect her?” She turned her head to the hunter. “Isn’t it?”

Chris sighed and didn’t answer.

 **“Maddie, it’s okay. The Argents can take it from here. This is kinda their area of expertise…”** Willow went on.

“She’s right,” Chris spoke finally and Maddie felt her anger grow. She had grown used to her words falling on deaf ears, but this seemed to irk her more than before.

**“See? So, we can just-“**

“No,” Chris cut Xander off. There was a beat and Maddie held her breath. “…Madeline’s right. We don’t know what’s coming next. The extra help might be useful.”

Madeline eyed the man suspiciously. She hadn’t anticipated him taking her side. He didn't meet her gaze, keeping it on the phone despite the tense silence.

**“Ohh…kay.”**

**“We’ll have to talk it over on our end,”** Xander added in an equally suspicious tone. **“You sure about this, Hayes?”**

Maddie studied the Argent, attempting to decipher any hidden agenda because there clearly had to be one. There was no other explanation. Still, regardless of her confusion, she nodded before realizing she was still speaking to a phone. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like to stay a little longer.”

 **“Well, as fun as this conversation keeps getting, we can’t really move forward until Buffy gets back.”** The unease in Willow’s voice told Maddie that she didn’t seem to trust the hunter either. **“We’ll go over it with her and, uh…get back to you.”**

“Sounds like a plan.” There was an air of bitterness as Maddie replied but she quickly hid it away again before continuing on. Now wasn't the time. “I’ll check back tomorrow.”

 **“Ten-four good buddy,”** Willow replied and this was soon followed by a beep that let Maddie know that the call had ended.

Maddie looked over at the hunter again, her mouth a straight line. “Why did you do that?”

“It was the truth,” Chris replied, his stare unchanging even now that he finally glanced at her. “A Slayer might be useful for a little while.”

Madeline stood and grabbed her phone from the table. “And I’m supposed to take that at face value.”

Chris stood up from his chair with a look a disdain and a grimace. “Take it however you want. The bottom line is that you saved my daughter’s life.”

“So did Scott but you’re not extending an invitation to him. So what gives?”

Chris exhaled loudly and stood from his own seat. “Scott is the reason Allison got involved in this.” His voice was progressively getting louder as he spoke. “Now, I don’t want to see a sixteen year old kid end up dead but I won’t allow him destroy my daughter’s life. AS for you, if there's something out of the ordinary going on, I don't intend to take a risk by throwing out our greatest ally.”

“You have other hunters. People way more loyal than me,” she answered, sounding exasperated. "Why not _use_ them?"

“Because, you _care_. I know you want to keep both of them out of harm’s way.” There was a long pause as his bright blue eyes narrowed on the girl. “So, I have a proposition for you.”

* * *

The past twelve hours had been confusing and outright stressful. Maddie hadn’t been able to get any shut eye whatsoever, which was more than a little frustrating but that wasn’t the extent of her troubles. She now found herself carrying her things – which consisted of a duffel, a backpack, and a messenger bag – down the long, dark hallway. She had already passed the guest room which once housed Kate for several months and she couldn't even look in the direction of it. It felt...haunted, not by a ghost (thank god) but by energy. Rage and malice pulsated from it, or maybe she was just imagining it. Either way, the room hadn’t been offered to her. No, that was supposed to be for another Argent who was on their way; that was a frightening thought in itself. If that was real rage emanating from that empty room, it would do nothing kind for the next person who resided there.  _Hell, it might even affect the whole damn house._

She silently cursed Willow for teaching her about that kind of stuff but moved on. Maddie found herself in front of another door all the way across the hall. Not hers, of course; a door she did not want to knock on whatsoever. Still, she did and the door swung open, revealing a messy-haired, frowning Allison. She looked down at Madeline’s luggage and back up at her face. “Hi.”

Maddie forced a thin-lipped smile, immediately regretting her decision. “Hi.”

Allison seemed to hesitate but took a few steps to the side, opening the door a bit more as a begrudging invitation. The slightly shorter brunette set her things down in the hallway and stepped in carefully as if avoiding a landmine. Allison closed the door and walked back over to her bed, sitting down. “Shouldn’t you be moving in?”

“Probably,” Maddie said with a shrug as she stood by the vanity.

“Then why are you here?”

Maddie sighed as the question sliced through the thick air. She folded her arms and leaned against the polished furniture. Her posture and attitude did nothing to allude to some sort of apology, which she didn't quite see the need to give. Instead, she looked Allison directly in the eye, defiance coming out in waves with the way she carried herself. “I did what I was told: go to a new town, stop a threat, protect someone.”

“I never _asked_ anyone to protect me.” Allison was becoming increasingly defensive, jolting up from her bed.

“You also didn’t know werewolves existed,” Maddie said, her tone and expression not changing one bit but mentally tallying their verbal jabs.

Allison’s mouth opened to say something but it quickly clamped shut as she looked away. “They should’ve told me… _someone_ should’ve told me.”

Maddie could hear the pain in the girl’s voice and, although a pinch of guilt surfaced, her confusion and annoyance boiled over. “What would that have accomplished? What would it help? Would your boyfriend be less of a werewolf? Would your dad be less of a hunter? Would Kate-”

“Don’t!” Allison shouted, putting her index finger up before her hand clenched into a fist and dropped back down. “Just… _don’t_.”

As the youngest Argent sat back down and silence sheathed around them. Something in Maddie’s gut told her to do something – anything, really. Perhaps even not be so… _her_ for a moment, regardless of her need to be right. She didn’t like the idea of that. Still, she moved forward and sat down on the bed next to Allison. She didn’t speak, but instead found herself looking out of window she was facing.

The quiet absorbed them both again, but this one felt different than the last. Still bitter but almost...gentler. Maddie waited to be chewed out for what she was saying but another minute passed before Allison spoke again, her voice fragile and unsure. “So…what _is_ a slayer?”

Maddie’s eyes floated over to the girl next to her, who still looked very much in pain but seemed to still be trying. It was admirable, if not unbelievable. She found herself looking down at the floor. “It’s a long story.”

“I… _think_ we’ve got time.” There was a small, mirthless laugh that escaped from Allison. “If you haven’t noticed, you kind of live here now.”

“Temporarily,” Maddie added. She looked over at the girl. “Until your dad decides that I’m just as much a threat as Scott and sends me packing. Which should be any second now.”

Allison shuffled around a bit uncomfortably. “…Thank you, I guess.”

Maddie raised an eyebrow curiously. “For what?”

“Saving my life.” The way she said it made it sound like it wasn’t very easy to spit out.

Maddie made a quick decision and nudged Allison’s shoulder with hers. “I’m not the one who set an Alpha werewolf on fire with a bow and arrow.”

“That was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?” A grin stretched across Allison’s face before both girls laughed quietly. Maddie took a moment to realize in the moment that that was the first time she had shared a genuine laugh with the girl beside her. She was about to take her leave when Allison spoke up again. “So…honesty from now on?”

“Unless my higher ups tell me otherwise,” came Maddie’s blunt reply. Allison rolled her eyes and Maddie shrugged her shoulders. “What? This is me being honest.”

Allison shook her head slowly and exhaled a deep breath. “Then give me an honest answer.”

"To what?" Maddie frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Allison swallowed before turning to Maddie again, her eyes ablaze with intent. "I want to ask for a favor."

* * *

“Wait, okay…” Stiles began slowly. “Why are you telling me this?”

Maddie sat a few chairs down from him in the waiting area of the hospital – and she was sure he was wearing the same clothes as the day before. Ignoring the sarcasm and the acrid smell, she finally answered. “Because you have a car.”

He narrowed his stare at her from his seat. “So you’re using me for transportation.”

“What else would I use you for?”  Maddie paused and analyzed Stiles shocked look before thinking over her words again. She quickly sent a glare his way and quickly added, “The answer to which is _absolutely nothing_.”

“So…you want me to drive you all the way to the next town over because why?”

“Because I need to _actually_ patrol.” She sunk lower into her increasingly uncomfortable seat. “And Allison’s dad won’t drive me.”

Stiles scooted up in his chair. “See, here’s the thing: I’m not a cab service! You know who I give rides to? _Friends_. Nice people. Not people who people who insult me and-or put me in pain.”

“Maybe if you didn't deserve it…” she mumbled. “And that was only, like…twice. Besides, I _know_ that’s not true.” She poked him in the arm accusingly several times in a row. “You’ve given Derek rides.”

“Yeah, well, Derek has the ability to kill me - and almost no conscience to stop him,” he argued back in a hushed tone. “And I value my life! It’s actually very precious to me, okay?”

Maddie blinked and gave him an unenthusiastic stare. “I have the ability to kill you, too. Does that count for nothing?”

“You _totally_ wouldn’t even kill me! It’s against your Slayer code or whatever…” It took him another second before he violently shook his head. “And can we please stop talking about my death?!”

“You don’t even know what the code is…”

“Ha! But there _is_ a code!”

Maddie rolled her dark eyes and looked over to the door, behind which was Lydia’s room. A pang of guilt spread through her but she promptly shook it off once more. This wasn’t the time. “I’m giving you the chance to see proof of real, live vampires from the safety of your car. I slay it, you can stop calling me crazy, and we head back. I mean, Scott already agreed but he told me to ask you, too.”

She noticed his stare go toward the room as well as he stayed silent. Something made her hesitate, even when she wanted to keep arguing but something about his expression stopped her. He looked so tired and worn down. _Trauma tends to do that,_ she reminded herself. _Anyone can crack under it._

“It wouldn’t be long,” she added, feeling the sudden need to soften her words, no matter how awkward it felt or sounded to do so. “We’ll be back by midnight – one at the latest. Then you can stay here for the rest of the weekend for all I care. It’s just this once.” He still didn’t answer or moved his gaze. Maddie held in an exasperated sigh. “Stiles, _please_.”

She hated using that word – _please_. It made her sound so helpless, like she had no choice but to beg. Then again, the fact that she needed to make such a request seemed absurd to her still. She was sure her expression didn’t match her words, even when Stiles finally turned to face her again. There was a prolonged moment where he simply studied her – maybe to find out if she was being sincere, but she wasn’t quite sure. Suddenly, it was his turn to sigh dramatically. “Fine. When are we leaving?”

* * *

“You know, when I asked ‘when are we leaving’, I didn’t think you meant like right now!”

They had only just passed the _‘Now Leaving Beacon Hills’_ sign moments ago and found themselves surrounded by trees on either side of the road. Maddie found herself watching the trees pass by idly and refraining from kicking Stiles’ seat which was directly in front of her. “It wasn’t _immediate._  There was like an hour before we left.”

“That’s pretty immediate!”

“We didn’t have time to plan. My dad would get suspicious,” Allison said, sitting beside Maddie and behind Scott.

Maddie snorted a short, bitter laugh. “I _breathe_ and your dad gets suspicious.”

Scott looked positively worried sick in the front passenger seat. “Allison, are you sure that this is a good idea? I mean…”

“It’s okay, Scott,” Allison said, her voice gentler. “I’ll be fine. Maddie and I have this all worked out.”

“What does that even mean?” Stiles asked with an exaggerated shrug.

Maddie sighed. She already didn’t like this plan – especially if she turned out to be right about the vampires. Then again, Maddie already had a guilty conscience for lying and Allison was a pro at guilt tripping. “…Allison and I agreed that I’m not here to protect her anymore.”

Gods, that sounded awful out loud. Scott turned back to the two girls, his own dark stare full of concern. “Then what are you here to do?”

Maddie remained stoic as even Allison looked over expectantly. This was a bad idea; she could feel it in her bones. The rest of their conversation the night before had not gone as smooth as she wanted it to. Allison had gotten this mixture of rage and pain stuck in her voice and Maddie had given in begrudgingly, just like she was now. “Help her train.”

Maddie stayed silent for the rest of the ride, watching the scenery outside her window. She could feel someone’s eyes on her now and then but shrugged it off. She felt as if she was getting pulled in so many directions – by Allison, by the other hunters, by her guilt, by HQ. All she wanted was to find some vampires in town (not something she ever thought she'd want to do) and make sure Lydia was okay. Instead, she kept making deals with everyone. Yes, she indeed did not feel like a person here – just a tool to meet everyone else’s ends. She rested her head against the glass and felt as if someone was watching her again. Her eyes flicked over from the trees to Allison, then to Scott. That was when she noticed the rear view mirror and a set of curious light brown eyes looking directly at her – but just as quickly looking away. She huffed and directed her stare back at the window when something caught her eye.

The dense trees had stopped instantly, leading to a wide, grassy field. The way the moonlight hit it reminded her of something though. That was when her eyes widened and fear gripped her. _...The dream._

“Stiles, stop the car.”

“But we’re in the middle of-“

“ _Stop the car!_ ” her voice boomed, causing Stiles to abruptly swerve and stop on the shoulder of the road.

Maddie suddenly cursed under her breath, waiting for the boys to get out first so that she and Allison could climb out. As her shiny, black boots touched the asphalt, Maddie immediately found herself walking towards the vacant lot and across the empty road.

She knew this place; she had seen it time and time again. “How far out of Beacon Hills are we?”

“Uh, two miles?” Stiles answered, still standing by his jeep. “Where are you going? We’re not even _in_ the next town yet.”

“We don’t need to be,” she muttered almost involuntarily.

Scott, who seemed on alert himself, looked at Stiles and Allison with caution. Allison, who’s face had drain of color, gripped her bow tightly and nodded. The three moved forward carefully, catching up to Madeline.

“Stop!” Maddie shouted, whipping around. “Stay by the car!”

Allison’s mouth hung open for a second. “That wasn’t our deal! You said-“

“That I’d _train_ you, not get you killed…” Her voice trailed off as she looked back at the trees. Something was rustling in them now – and it was getting closer. Maddie cursed under her breath and smoothly took the wooden stake out of her sleeve. “Training begins now.”

From the thick woods, leaves rustled. Maddie’s vision snapped back over to the looming darkness, focusing as her grip on her stake became so tight that her knuckles turned white. Instinctively, both she and Scott managed to maneuver in front of both Allison and Stiles, although Allison still managed to have a shaky arrow at the ready. As their eyes adjusted to the blackness, in the distance, something began moving. Shadows perforated the cracks between the trees, moving forward towards them.

“Remember that conversation about vampires not being real?” Maddie asked, her voice harsh and unyielding as she did well to ignore her pounding heart. Her gaze went over to Scott, whose eyes were glowing a bright yellow and features had shifted as a growl rumbled in his throat. Her head turned back to the shadows that were coming closer.

“Uh, yeah?” Stiles managed to answer from the back, his voice shrinking.

Another growl sounded but this time from ahead of them. From the woods, figures emerged – pale and deformed. Maddie’s blood was pumping furiously in her veins as adrenaline took over. This was what she lived for. Anyone could make plans and deals – Maddie preferred to leave those to others. She was a weapon and now was the time to show it. Her dark brown eyes narrowed on the creatures coming towards them and her lips tugged upwards in a grim smile. “Lesson one – it’s _always_ real.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It's real. It's the only lesson, Dawn. It's always real.” – Buffy, 07x22: ‘Lessons’


	18. Someone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vampires. Flailing. Visits. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: FINALLY. I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update and that it's a bit shorter than usual but here we are with some quality Staddie moments ahead! Enjoy!

The punch landed.

Maddie’s balled fist hurt a bit, although she of course would be the first to openly admit that it felt right. It was a good hurt that she knew, with full comprehension, had been worth it as it was clear that the vampire was in much more pain than she was. She smirked and gave the creature a sharp knee to the gut before spinning around and releasing her hand axe from her grasp. The slayer didn’t bother to watch it spin gracefully through the air and into the back of another vampire’s skull – a vampire that had been barreling towards Allison a second before. As the monster slumped to the ground momentarily, Maddie whirled back around, sliding a stake out of her sleeve with ease and gripping it tightly as she plunged it into the chest of the demon before her. Sweat dripped down her brow and the petite brunette ran her free hand through her hair to keep it from sticking to her face. Her quick, heavy footfalls took her away from the area and in the direction of the others as the vampire now behind her crumbled to a pile of ash in the tall grass.

The monster in front of Allison – which had previously been on the ground – started to stand, the axe still lodged in the back of his shaved head. Fear overtook Allison’s wide eyes as her frayed nerves held her in place. She fumbled quite a bit to grab a sleek, wooden arrow – gifts courtesy of Madeline – from her quiver, nearly dropping it as her panic rose in her chest. She drew her bow as the large vampire moved closer with a sadistic grin on his face, his fangs poking through menacingly. Its ridged brow shadowed its sickly yellow eyes that were narrowed on the youngest Argent and glinting dangerously in the moonlight. It chuckled and did not slow down.

Before the vampire reached her though, it was tackled to the ground. A roar bellowed from Scott as he delivered blow after blow to the monster’s face.

“It’s dead already! Kill it!” Maddie shouted as she found herself fighting another vampire from a distance.

Scott hesitated at the order and the brief pause caused the vampire to push him off roughly, sending him painfully into a nearby tree back first. The creature kipped up and shook off whatever effect the blows had on him before returning his attention to Allison. That second was just long enough though, as in that instant, the pale demon felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see the arrow had found its target and swiftly looked up again. His eyes were blazing but as he attempted to run toward Allison his body had already begun to turn to ash.

Allison caught her breath in relief for a moment as Scott, slightly dazed, looked on in astonishment. The Argent took a second to gather her thoughts before she found the axe half buried in the small hill of what was formerly a vampire. She quickly grabbed it and looked around for its owner. In the distance, the slayer had found herself fending off two vampires with abnormally massive frames.

“Maddie!” Allison yelled, throwing the axe in the direction of the girl as hard as she could.

The hand axe fell short though, landing in the grass only a foot away. Maddie felt herself begin to panic and got sloppier with each blow. Kicks and punches flew around in a flurry, both coming from her and connecting with her with no let up.

It was then something absolutely horrifying happened. One of the vampires had eased off of its attacks but with good reason: there was something on his back.

No. Not something.

 _Someone_.

In what could only be a failed attempt at a chokehold, Stiles hung on for dear life to the neck of the vampire who was now whipping his torso wildly to get the boy off of him. Stiles, on the other hand, was flailing around like a rag doll left and right, shouting something that sounded a bit like, “Yeah, you’re not so tou-ahhh!!!”

Both Madeline and the other vampire took a moment to gape at the scene but it didn’t last very long as the slayer used the distraction – she had assumed that was what it was – to leap to the ground and grab her axe. In one swift motion, she spun on her heel and sliced the distracted vampire’s head clean off. It took a lot of force and Maddie spun just a bit too much because of it but that was the least of her worries now.

Stiles had finally been thrown to the ground, wincing in pain as he laid there. Both Scott and Maddie were rushing toward the last vampire at full speed, the werewolf leaping to shoulder check the demon in the face and the slayer aiming for its legs from behind. The both hit at once, taking the creature off of its feet immediately. Scott rolled on the ground and faced them as he stood again while Maddie, instead of doing the same, took the brief moment to bury her stake in the monster’s chest with a final sigh.

There was a few seconds when the field became still once more and silence enveloped them. Allison ran towards Scott, quietly asking if he was alright. The scene across from them was quite different though. Maddie had stood finally and brushed herself off before eyeing the boy on the ground. She raised an eyebrow at Stiles, who seemed to be trying to push himself off the ground with little luck. The slayer rolled her dark eyes and begrudgingly held out her hand to him. Stiles paused and stared at the hand warily, waiting another moment before accepting the gesture.

As Maddie helped him up though, she tugged him close enough to punch his upper arm, and not holding back as much as she normally would. Stiles let go instantly and held his now sore arm. “What was that for?!”

Maddie narrowed her eyes on him, a frown lining his features. “Never. Do. That. Again.”

“What? Save your life?” Stiles shot back. He shrugged, fury raising behind his own stare. “Fine!”

“You did _not_ save my life!” She gestured to the piles of ash littered in the grassy field. “I was handling it just fine!”

Stiles looked utterly shocked by the response. “ _Handling_ it? Sure, maybe if you were trying to end up _dead_! Then, yeah, you were handling it!”

“ _I’d_ end up dead?” she asked, her tone becoming angrier as she took a threatening step toward him. “ _You_ were the one trying to get yourself _killed_ by jumping on that vampire!”

“But I _didn’t_!” Stiles shouted even louder. “Look, whether you like it or not, my plan actually worked! We’re all alive – thanks in part to me providing a distraction!” His light brown eyes narrowed on her. “Get over it!”

Maddie was fuming but not saying a word. She knew the truth and she hated to even think that something like that even worked or that an innocent – regardless of how idiotic they were – was put in harm’s way. _There was a better way. There’s always a better way._ She didn’t say it out loud though but instead exhaled loudly and socked him in the arm again before heading back to the jeep.

“Stop that!” Stiles shouted, following in suit.

Scott and Allison, who were sufficiently calm by that point, threw each other sideways glances and laughed quietly. Without another word they headed back to the car as well.

* * *

Days had passed quickly since then with no furthering issues between Allison and Maddie and no speaking between Maddie and Stiles. The slayer found herself spending very little time at the Argents and making a point to avoid tense situations – like being in the same room with Allison’s parents for any amount of time. Dinner had become a chore for both teenagers and Maddie had made the decision to eat out as often as possible in the few days she’d stayed there. She couldn’t imagine it would get any better when more Argents would arrive.

This, on the other hand, was different. Both girls had been left at home while Chris and Victoria attended to business elsewhere. Maddie wasn’t yet allowed to tell Allison the extent of the business but insisted on knowing for her own sake – a trait that both adults seemed to dislike but oblige. Then again, the slayer didn’t lie to the other girl when asked about these things regardless of orders.  Perhaps it was adolescent rebellion or maybe even that she was getting used to spending time with Allison and had an issue with dishonesty. Either way, she had just finished telling the hunter in training all she knew and had no qualms over doing so.

“So, Scott’s coming over?” Maddie raised a curious eyebrow as she slipped on her leather jacket. “Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

Allison rolled her eyes. “No more than hunting vampires.”

“ _Slaying_ , thank you,” Maddie replied quickly, her tone still light. “And is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Not really.” Allison shrugged before pointing an index finger at her friend. “Besides, I’m not letting you take responsibility for me. If you actually want to be my friend, I need you to stop acting like my babysitter.”

Maddie frowned slightly but didn’t reply. Instead, she focused her attention on picking at her brand new plum nail polish. She forgot how much she hated nail polish.

Allison sighed as she noticed Maddie’s evasion. Her hand dropped to her side once again. “It’s not on you to take care of us. Not me, not Lydia, not Stiles.”

“I’m not taking _any_ responsibility for Stiles,” Maddie snapped almost immediately, sounding more than a little defensive.  “Anything dangerous he does is on him … What?”

Allison was giving her an amused look which vaguely reminded her of another time in the recent past. Instead of prodding, the fairer brunette waved it off. “Nothing. Where are you headed?”

“Hospital.”

“You know Stiles is there.”

“So? _I’m_ there to visit Lydia.” Maddie’s tone was getting a bit edgier. She took a deep breath before continuing in a much calmer voice. “Besides, I wanted to make myself scarce considering how thin these walls are. I don’t really want to listen to the Allison and Scott sexcapades.” The vampire slayer had already begun to walk towards the door, not bothering to catch Allison’s bright red cheeks. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“R-right! Yeah. Later.”

* * *

It had been a long walk to the hospital, but a much needed respite from the people she’d been spending far too much time with; it was actually exhausting. Finally, though, she had a chance to clear her head. The night air was bitingly cold as she clung to her jacket tighter. She managed to take a detour to the cemetery once again, as she had found herself doing every few nights like clockwork. The slayer never stayed very long though, seeing as she wasn’t technically alone there. The same skittish boy from before always seemed to pop up. He worked there, she learned after another few days. He talked to her sometimes, asking why she always ended up there. She avoided the question and he didn’t pry – something she was extremely grateful for. He told her his name was Isaac and she begrudgingly shared her name as well. Neither of them were very talkative and Maddie seemed to be comfortable with this. Even tonight, he merely gave her a nod which she returned. Still, no vampires.

Maddie had moved on, finding herself at the hospital shortly after. She grimaced at the sterile smell and folded her arms. Never had she known a slayer who didn’t have a loathing for hospitals, herself included. Life and death were simple concepts; sick or hurt were not. They were complicated and stressful. It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful for Lydia to be getting better, she just hated the idea of hurt. You can’t save people from _hurt_.

Maddie had taken the painstakingly slow elevator to the correct floor and made her way over to the desk. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Melissa McCall, Scott’s mother, placing a clipboard in the holder on the door and looking at something else. The teenager followed her glance and her own stare went flat.

Once again, it was not _something_.

There, draped across a row of chairs with a **‘Get Well Soon’** balloon attached to his wrist, was Stiles, half-snoring and half-mumbling in his sleep. The slayer shook her head slowly and returned her attention to Melissa, who was now looking at her as if trying to decipher something. Finally, she pointed to the girl as if something had clicked. “Maddie.”

Maddie smiled politely and mimicked the gesture. “Scott’s mom.”

“That’s what they keep calling me at least,” the woman said with a laugh at the end.

The younger girl forced a laugh of her own before speaking again. “Is it alright if I visit Lydia?”

“She’s actually getting cleaned up right now, but she shouldn’t be too long if you don’t mind waiting.”

Maddie had nodded and walked over to the waiting area. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to sit without moving Stiles and she consider it for a moment. That is, until he began making kissing sounds and she resolved from there to not touch him.

She saw a man leave Lydia’s room, recognizing him as the girl’s father. He also seemed to be giving Stiles a strange look as he conversed with Mrs. McCall.

“He’s been here all night?”

“He’s been here all _weekend_.”

It wasn’t surprising in the least. Allison had previously explained Stiles’ massive crush on Lydia just the other day and suddenly things were making a lot more sense. Of course, either way, the last thing Maddie cared to learn about was who likes who or who’s dating who – it all seemed trivial, honestly.

Regardless, Stiles’ incoherent rambling was becoming rather entertaining. Madeline watched and stepped out of the way slightly as an older woman came by to pick up the trash. Stiles had a ridiculous grin on his face as he continued to sleep and quite clearly said, “…You’re _dirty_ ,” and continued to make kissing noises.

Maddie snorted a laugh and covered her mouth as the woman gave Stiles a shocked glance and quickly moved on. The noise she made as she walked off seemed to jolt Stiles awake once again and he sat up instantly, looking around. As his vision focused once again, he was met with the sight of Maddie standing right beside him and stifling her laughter. His eyes widened and he gaped at her for a moment as if searching for something to say. Before he could say a word though, she held up her hands defensively and tried not to smile. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”

Stiles still looked absolutely beside himself and more confused by the moment as he sat up more and swatted the balloon out of his face. “Don’t want to know what?”

“ _Anything_ involving whatever you were dreaming about,” she said, regaining some composure. “Also, as a note, you probably shouldn’t sleep in public places if you’re going to call nurses dirty.”

"... _What_?" Stiles’ eyes widened in sheer horror as they met hers. He stood straight up and took a step back from the girl cautiously. “Wait! W-what else did I say?”

“I don’t know. I just got here.” She shrugged before her amused looked turned more inquisitive at his reaction. “…Why?”

“Pfft! No reason,” he said instantly, almost cutting her off. “Just a question; thought I’d ask – but we’re moving on! Moving forward. Who's hungry? Are you hungry? I’m hungry.” He spoke so quickly that she had no time to answer. Suddenly, he pointed his thumb in the direction of the hallway behind him. “I’m gonna, y’know…fix that. Right now. Over there.”

Without another word, he walked off in the same direction. Maddie gave him an odd look as he walked off and hesitantly followed at a much slower pace with her arms folded. For a moment, she thought to ask but thought that the answered would be much weirder than she cared to think about.


	19. Hate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitterness. Friendship. Panic. "I kind of hate you.”

**November 2005**

_She moved like water – with an ease and grace uncommon among the other young girls. As if she was born to do this, to **be** a slayer. Sure, they were **all** born to be slayers, but this was certainly different. Every strike, dodge, and kick was so perfectly timed, no one could possibly tell they had all been training for just two years. The trainers were impressed, even when they attempted not to show it. The other girls, though bitter, were in awe. Maddie was not._

_Ten year old Maddie fumbled a lot, sometimes even got scared and screamed. When she wasn’t afraid, she was clumsy – at least, that’s what the adults would say. They didn’t think she heard but after she had taken to being on the quiet side after her first few weeks, she seemed to hear a lot. She began to believe that the universe had made a mistake making her a slayer, someone chosen for something so great. It simply wasn’t her._

_…No, not **her**._

_Marie was another case entirely._

_Anne Marie Drake was a twelve year old prodigy. She trained with the older girls sometimes and had, on occasion, beaten a few of them. She had a wide, triumphant smile each time and flipped her long blonde hair as she would saunter away. It was always a treat to watch her work, everyone always said. Maddie didn’t seem to agree._

_Maddie hadn’t forgotten what Marie had done those first few weeks. She remembered the hurt and the laughter emitting from everyone else. She remembered the bruises that had stretched across her ribcage. Sure, time had passed and Buffy had told her not to hold grudges, but she couldn’t help it. It was a black spot on her heart that spread with time and no words could stop it._

_This is what she had resolved as she watched the girl in training that day. Her insides twisted painfully as she turned away and pushed herself roughly through the crowd. There was nothing good about that girl. Nothing nice or kind or compassionate. She was mean and cocky – and that was at her best. She hurt people that didn’t deserve it._

_**I didn’t deserve it.** _

_That’s what Buffy had told her, at least._

_She sat in the back of the large stone castle, her hard gaze peering out beyond the moors to the cloudy sky. The sun was setting and the icy wind stung her cheeks as it blew past. Soon, being alone outside wouldn’t be an option at all, what with winter settling in. She would have to spend her time with the rest of the girls. Maybe Buffy would let her eat with her, her sister, and Mister Harris. She decided to remind herself of that when she got back inside._

_That was when she saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye._

_Maddie’s head perked up to find the familiar blonde curls blowing all around the face of a blue-eyed and unnaturally tall twelve year old girl. She bounced around a bit and kept her arms folded, probably to ward off the cold. She didn’t wait to ask for a seat next to Maddie before sitting down, much to the younger girl’s distress._

_There was a long silence passed between them as Maddie’s hands balled into fists while she still hugged her knees. Marie’s legs stretched out in front of her, her feet moving left and right as she leaned back and propped herself up on her elbows. Neither girl looked away from the gray sky for what seemed like hours._

_It was only minutes, though, before Maddie heard the familiar Southern drawl as Marie spoke. “Why do you **always** come out here?”_

_“To get away from you.” There was no pause, no hesitation. The words spilled from the ten-year-old’s mouth easily enough to startle the other girl. Up until that moment, the only emotions Madeline Hayes had seen from the girl she had dubbed her arch enemy were happiness and anger. Without looking, she knew that neither were present. Out of sheer curiosity – or possibly malice – she looked over at the older girl. She was still looking at the sky with her wide blue eyes, perhaps to keep herself from looking at Maddie with guilt. Without missing another beat, the tiny brunette continued. “Why are **you** out here?”_

_“I dunno,” she answered with a shrug. “It was getting crowded. Too much stupid, ya know?”_

_Maddie didn’t exactly know how to take that. Was she being called smart or maybe just not as dumb as the others? She didn’t answer either way. She didn’t care to answer. She was too infuriated by the inane mixture of laziness and arrogance. **Stupid**? She was one to talk._

_“Hey.”_

_This seemed to catch Maddie’s attention, causing her to glance back over at the older girl. In her hand, she held two packets of Reese’s, passing one of them to Maddie. The girl nearly caught it before it bounced off of the side of her hand and to the grass. Marie laughed a bit as Maddie picked up the bright orange packaging. They hardly went beyond their headquarters, so candy was a luxury for the older girls and the trainers usually, with a treat here and there when Willow stopped by. Her eyes widened and she looked back at Marie. “How’d you get this?!”_

_“Trip to Aberdeen. I got to tag along for ‘Outstanding Merit’ or somethin’ lame like that. Don’t really remember.” The blonde tore open the wrapper with her teeth and threw the paper cup behind her as she bit into the chocolate._

_Maddie watched her with a frown. So careless. How could this girl be so special? “I kind of hate you.”_

_There it was again – another carefree smile. There was no hint of anger or hurt. In that moment, Maddie knew the difference between the two of them. Marie glanced back over at Maddie with her wide, toothy grin. “S’okay. I kinda hate me too.”_

_Maddie watched the girl in between eating her own peanut butter cup. In between the hate, something else seeping through. Curiosity._

_It was not the last time they sat out in that field together._

_Six months later, right before summer crept up on them, Marie had finally apologized._

* * *

Maddie’s hands were stuffed in her pockets as she watched Stiles meander over to the vending machines. His mouth stretched open in a yawn as he reached in his pocket. Maddie rocked back and forth on her heels quietly and impatiently as Stiles put change in the machine and idly pressed some buttons. The silence had gone on for only a few minutes and they both seemed to agree on not making any small talk. Maddie was horrible at small talk – besides, it would probably end in arguments and violence anyway.

She looked over at the machine to see a Reese’s package almost fall before it got stuck on the wire. Stiles pressed the button again, several times over with no change. He gave an exasperated sigh and muttered, “…Seriously?”

Maddie’s dark brown gaze shot back over to Stiles hitting the glass of the machine. “It’s _just_ candy. Put another quarter in and get another one.”

“I don’t have another quarter,” he argued. In a split second, his head turned towards her and his eyes turned slightly hopeful. “Wait, do you have quarter?”

She scowled at him, not bothering to look. “No.”

He rolled his eyes and huffed before turning back to the machine. Grabbing the top of it, he began shaking the whole vending machine. Still, the candy did not move.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Maddie said, watching him warily and taking a step back.

He stopped shaking the machine and turned to her for a second. “Do you have a better idea?”

“Go home and get actual food?” she offered. He glared and looked back at the machine with contempt. Suddenly, he grabbed both sides of the vending machine and did what appeared to be an attempt at a lift. Maddie, watched him carefully, as if trying to decode something. She didn’t get it. More, specifically, she didn’t get him. She couldn’t decipher whether he was ridiculously intelligent or dumb as a rock. If anything, that in itself infuriated her. The machine rocked dangerously further towards Stiles and Maddie took another careful step back, pulling herself away from her thoughts and into reality. “You’re going to hurt yourself doing that.”

“Maybe if you -” He pushed all of his body weight against the machine as it swayed. “ – helped out –” He pushed again. “ – a little bit – ”

The vending machine rocked a bit too much and tipped toward him as it began to fall over. He reached to stop it but instead was pulled out of the way by the hood of his jacket. The machine toppled over with a loud crash, leaving Maddie with a flat, annoyed glare and Stiles with a wide eyed look at the mess. Letting go of his jacket, Maddie turned her attention to Stiles again, sighing. “You know, I kind of hate you.”

“Yeah, you don’t even believe that one,” Stiles mumbled, a familiar edge in his voice as he began to try and pick up the impossibly heavy machine.

Maddie was slightly taken aback by the comment as she opened her mouth again to attempt a retort but nothing came out. She clamped her mouth shut once more and proceeded to glare at him.

That’s when they heard it.

A scream.

If there was one thing Maddie had become familiar with over the past eight years, it was shrill, terrified screams. Of course, this was different – not only different, but unlike anything she had ever heard. It was… _deafening_. As the shock of it coursed through her, the truly horrifying part dawned upon her: it was coming from the direction of Lydia’s room.

“Lydia,” both she and Stiles muttered to themselves as they bolted in the direction of the noise. Maddie moved as fast as she could, leaving Stiles to fall behind, but she had no time to think about that as she made her way around the corner of the corridor. The slayer nearly ripped the door off the hinge as she sprinted into the room, her eyes wide and alert. Behind her, Scott’s mother and another nurse had only just opened the door before Stiles pushed through them and past Maddie. She managed to stop short of the shower as the water continued to run and Stiles opened the curtain, revealing the empty tub. The slayer’s heart continued to race, panic throttling her.

“Look,” Stiles said quietly, calling her attention. Maddie followed his stare to the open window, revealing nothing but darkness that stretched through the dense woods in the distance.

* * *

“This _has_ to be illegal.”

“Yeah, well, do you have some secret brilliant plan? If so, now’s the time.”

“I’m just pointing out the obvious.”

“And you do that spectacularly, thank you! Now, c’mon, Scott’s waiting!”

Maddie sighed and followed Stiles out of the hospital room, as he hid the slightly bloody fabric behind his back. The petite brunette huffed and walked alongside him, in an effort to hide the nightgown as well. “If we get caught, I’m blaming you.”

“Yep, and I’m sure that defense’ll work on the police, too.” Stiles turned the corner sharply, not bother to look over. “Besides can’t you use you’re Slayer powers to just, you know, knock them out long enough for us to get away?”

“I am not using super strength to get you out of trouble!”

“ _Us_. To get _us_ out of trouble.” He threw her a side glance. “You helped. You’re an accessory.”

She grumbled a few curses under her breath as they continued down the hall to find Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa speaking and talking quickly.

“Let’s get an APB out on a sixteen year old red head. Any other descriptors?”

Without a second’s paused, Stiles interjected. “She’s five-foot-three, green eyes, fair skinned, and her hair’s actually strawberry blonde.”

The Sheriff’s eyes narrowed on his son. “Is that right?”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah.”

In the blink of an eye, the Sheriff’s hand grabbed the back of his son’s neck and dragged him off. Both Melissa and Lydia’s father looked over at Maddie expectantly. She forced a thin smile and half-waved. “Hi.”

Once the two Stilinskis’ conversation had ended, Stiles was pushed in the direction of the exit by his dad. The Sheriff managed to also give Maddie a chastising look as he spoke to his son again. “And make sure Madeline gets home as well, got it?”

“Right!” Stiles agreed before waving Maddie over. “Time to go, Mads!”

Maddie felt a sharp jolt of annoyance and glared at Stiles before quickly turning to the adults, giving them a casual salute. She quickly joined the pale, scrawny boy as they walked past the ruined vending machine that was still face down on the floor. They both stiffed at the sight of it and kept walking to the exit.

Once they finally sped out into the brisk winter air, Maddie punched Stiles arm. He jerked away instantly and gave her a shocked glance. “Ow! Are you freaking kidding me?! That was just starting to heal from the last time! What’d I do now?!”

“Don’t call me Mads!” she replied through gritted teeth.

Looking rather confused and angry in his own right, he glared at her. “What?! Why not?”

“None of your business!” she snapped. This garnered another strange look from the boy, which she returned with a scowl. “Just…don’t!”

She walked ahead of him, towards the blue jeep that Scott was already settled in. Stiles rolled his eyes dramatically and followed, getting in the driver’s side after the slayer stumbled to the backseat. He handed the nightgown to Scott without a word.

Scott took it and looked up at Stiles. “This was the one she was just wearing?” Stiles simply nodded, looking a bit withdrawn, something that Scott could easily tell. “I’m not gonna let anyone hurt her. Not again.”

“Alright, just shove the thing in your face and let’s find her,” Stiles replied, sounding a bit dejected. It wasn’t but a second later that he switched on his headlights and was startled by a frantic looking Allison heading towards the car.

She bolted to Scott’s side of the car as the werewolf sent her a worried glance. “What are you doing here? Someone’s gonna see us.”

“I don’t care. She is my best friend and we need to find her before they do,” she argued, a mixture of concern and determination in her eyes. She even shot Maddie a look as the slayer slouched in her seat and stayed silent.

Scott looked a bit confused. “I can find her before the cops can.”

“How about before my father does?”

Stiles looked over as well now. “Wait, he knows?”

“Yeah,” Allison replied. “I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs.”

Scott looked over at Stiles, panic dawning on his face. “Search party.”

“More like hunting party,” the youngest Argent said.

Scott turned his attention back to his girlfriend. “Get in.” He opened his passenger side door almost instantly and Allison awkwardly climbed into the back, next to Maddie who was clearly not fond of this idea by the glare she was sending the girl next to her.

In a flash, Stiles revved the engine and sped off into the night as fast as the speed limit would permit him to – and maybe a little faster than that. It only took another minute or so before he spoke up again. “Alright, but if she’s turning, would they actually kill her?”

“I don’t know! They won’t tell me anything, okay?” Allison went on, the edge in her voice get worse as she went on.  “All they say is we’ll talk after Kate funeral when the _‘others’_ get here.”

Stiles glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “What others?”

“I don’t know. They won’t tell me that either.” Her unease was clearly getting to her now as she spoke so fast, her words slurred together a bit as she spoke.

“Other hunters,” Maddie spoke up finally, feeling she might have something useful to add. “And an Argent. They didn’t say a name, but it’s a ‘he’ and your dad was talking about him like he was the black plague or something.”

“What?” Allison turned to the slayer, her eyes wide with shock. “Wait, how do you- when did you find this out?”

Maddie shrugged. “Like, this morning.”

“And you were planning on telling us when?” Stiles asked, sounding a bit unnerved himself.

“When you guys decided to ask me.” She noted the two deadpan looks she was receiving. “What? You people interrogate me almost every day. It’s not like you wouldn’t have found out.”

“Okay, both you _and_ her family have some very serious communication issues to work on.” Stiles looked over  to his best friend. “Scott, are we going the right way?”

Scott, on the other hand, had his head out the window as he continued to sniff the air. “Take the next right!”

“This is a terrible idea!” Maddie added with a curious look to Scott and back between Stiles and Allison.

“Thank you so much for your constructive input,” Stiles quipped, looking back quickly at her before settling his eyes back on the road. “Do you have a better plan?”

Maddie stayed quiet and rolled her eyes. As they drove further into the darkness, her own uneasiness began to take over above all the chatter in the car. This was her fault. She had made the mistake of allowing Lydia to get hurt and now she was missing. If they couldn’t find her in time…she couldn’t think about that. They would find her alive. They _had_ to.

Still, she couldn’t help the bad feeling in her gut telling her things were about to get much worse.


	20. war.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bullies. funerals. hunts. "would you like to do the honors?"

"So, you're not going?"

The next day had sprung upon them like any other with one exception - no signs of Lydia still. Aside from nearly getting caught by Allison's father, the night before had been a fruitless one and brought only more infuriating questions. Maddie frowned at the impertinent question as she leaned against the locker beside Allison's. Not only that though; she was frowning at the reaction Allison was giving her. That helpless, doe-eyed look she tended to give the slayer every time they didn't agree. _Guilt tripping should be illegal,_ Maddie thought. Still, she held her ground. "Your aunt hated me."

"But-"

"No," Maddie cut in, her dark eyes wide as if to make a point. "I mean, like, _hated_ me. Legitimate loathing. From the moment I met her, she looked at me like..."

As the sentence faded, Allison looked withdrawn. "...A wild animal?"

Lead filled Maddie's gut, causing her stare to harden and her jaw to clench for a moment. "Like a demon...a _monster_. Between that and the rest of your family..." Allison's eyes shot to the floor immediately. Maddie struggled to withhold a sigh that attempted to escape her lips. "I just don't think I'd be welcome there."

It took a prolonged silence before Allison hesitantly nodded. There it was again - guilt stabbing through Maddie's chest and nesting there. That was when she heard something that transformed her guilt into rage. Girls, chatting idly only feet away. This typically wouldn't bother the slayer all that much until she caught what they were talking about.

"...Not her sister, her _aunt_. The one who murdered all those people." 

"You mean the crazy bitch who killed all those people?"

"Yeah, the fire, all those animal attacks - it was her  _aunt_."

"Are you  _kidding_? I sit next to her in English."

"Find a new seat."

Maddie quickly glanced over at Allison, who was still looking down although now there were tears shining in her eyes. Maddie's blood was boiling as she turned around and the two girls who were giggling to themselves. Something in Maddie's head snapped and she strode over to the two, arching an eyebrow as she sent them a glare. "I'm sorry - is there a problem over here?"

Both girls looked over at her, their own conversation coming to a dead stop. The edge in Maddie's tone was crystal clear as they gaped at her for a second, giving her a strange look. The girl on the right  scoffed, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's interesting, because I could've sworn I heard you talking about my friend," Maddie tried to keep her voice pleasant but she couldn't seem to keep her own emotions in check. There was a ghost of a smile on her lips, although it felt dangerous - like an animal baring it's teeth. Who's to say Kate was wrong about her?

The girl on the right didn't waver when she turned to her friend and muttered, "What a surprise, the girl with the psycho family has a psycho bodyguard."

Maddie felt her fist involuntarily balling up and unclenching once again. Both girls seemed to notice this, scoffing and giggling as they began walking away. Without hesitation, petite slayer reached and grabbed the collar of the girl's jacket, yanking her back. The girl had stiffened and let out a tiny yelp in surprise as Madeline hissed out, "You should start thinking before you speak while I'm still allowing you to have the  _ability_ to speak."

Her upper hand didn't seem to last all that long though as another voice rang out in the hallway. "Miss Hayes!" It was Maddie's turn to stiffen up as Mister Harris came into view, with the same cold stare his usually wore. "Although I'm not particularly shocked at this turn of events, I feel it's my duty to inform you that brute force will not be tolerated anywhere on school property."

Maddie stared defiantly at the man for an extra second before begrudgingly letting the girl go. The girl spun around and stumbled away, pointing at Maddie accusingly as her friend hid behind her. "She- She  _threatened_ me!"

"I was defending-" Maddie turned back to the lockers where Allison had been standing, finding the area empty. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she turned back to the unamused and expectant Chemistry teacher. A sigh passed from her lips and she rolled her eyes before sending him a flat look. "They were making fun of my friend. I stepped in."

"Well, considering there's only three people here and two of them are clearly terrified of you," Harris began motioning to the girls without looking at them. "I'm inclined to believe them. Do you know what that means, Miss Hayes?"

Maddie shrugged. "Should I?"

"Detention. Now."

Maddie opened her mouth to say something but, alas, it clamped shut once more. There was no getting out of this that she could possibly think of on such short notice. Her jaw clenched and she gave a short nod. Mister Harris gave an infuriatingly sarcastic 'after you' motion in the direction of his classroom and Maddie hesitantly obliged. It was a short walk from where they had been but seemed like ages with her teacher in tow.  Once she made her way through the door to the chemistry classroom, she took a brief look around and immediately noticed the room had not been empty.

There, at the table closest to the door, was the instantly familiar boy she seemed to be finding everywhere lately. Maddie frowned as Stiles noticed her as well with a curious glance.

"Seat closest to the window, Miss Hayes," Mister Harris said, bringing back their attention to him. "Oh, and both of you? Do get comfortable. I suspect we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other this semester."

* * *

He was a horrible human being. The Mister Harris that Maddie knew was nowhere near this...sinister. Detention was, as she understood, supposed to end much earlier than the time displayed on the clock at the front of the room. It had been nearly an hour and a half since she had taken her seat and she had quietly watched Stiles attempt to leave to no avail. In fact, when it _was_ time to leave, Mister Harris hadn't said a word but instead gathered his things, got up and left. The two had waited there for nearly five minutes before bolting.

"So, you're not going?" Stiles asked from the driver's seat of his jeep, the same stupid jeep she had become oh so familiar with as of late.

"No, I'm not going," said Maddie as she buckled her seat belt. Her head snapped over in his direction. " _Why_ is everyone asking me that?"

Stiles revved the engine and sped out of the school parking lot. "I don't know, because it's friend etiquette 101?"

Maddie blinked and gave the boy an odd – and yet equally annoyed – stare. "What?"

"You and Allison are friends, right?"

"I don't know. I guess." Something inside her didn't want to answer that question, especially to Stiles. It felt too...personal. She caught sight of his slightly dead pan gaze and sighed. "Ugh. Yes, okay? We're friends!"

In between steering, he began gesturing emphatically. "And you know what friends do? Be there for each other! And this might've escaped your keen slayer senses but you're pretty much doing the opposite."

Guilt once again churned in her stomach as Maddie folded her arms and looked away, her eyes absently watching the passing scenery. Five long minutes passed between them as she idly drummed her fingers on her arm and Stiles constantly switched his attention from the road to her. She had to be honest with herself; she was being rather difficult but stood by her reasoning. Allison's mother and father did not like her in the slightest and attending the funeral of a woman she didn't like in the slightest didn't seem all that appropriate.

Surely it had nothing to do with the fact that she had never actually attended a funeral. Not a real one, at least.

And the one time she _almost_ did... She couldn't. She refused. She couldn't look at that coffin and imagine the person behind the lid. She couldn't stand the quiet. The rest of the squad couldn't understand. She would've be alone.

She shook the thought out of her head and it was immediately replaced with that same pained expression Allison wore before Maddie had approached the two girls from earlier. Her aunt was gone, she'd been lied to all of her life, and her best friend was missing – and was possibly a monster somewhere out there, about to be captured. _Or worse._  Surrounded by family and Allison would be completely... She chewed on her lip in thought, or perhaps out of nerves and sunk lower in her seat.

"...I don't _own_ funeral clothes."

Stiles did a double take before his eyes softened a bit and fought the triumphant smile that threatened to spread across his face. "C'mon, you're wearing all black! You'll fit in just fine."

Maddie glowered at the boy threateningly. She was seriously beginning to hate when he was right.

 

* * *

 

Reporters everywhere.

Cameras.

Lights flashing.

It was absolutely horrific.

Maddie had since left the jeep and Stiles, who had gone around back to hide with Scott who was presumably there as well. Now, she found herself fighting through the crowd to enter the cemetery – the very same cemetery she tended to frequent on her dull as dirt patrols. She thought she had just passed the boy from earlier, the one Allison had spoken to, but she passed it off as coincidence. She had more important matters to attend to, anyway.

Once she hopped over the gate, she began to rush over to the small group of people surrounding the open grave. Her nerves, for some reason, seemed to jump from her stomach to her throat. She hadn't even noticed that she was fiddling with her hands until she looked down and clenched both at her side. As she reached the rest of them with no further issues, she reached out and tapped the girl ahead of her with the pretty dark hair on the shoulder.

Allison jumped and spun around, eyes wide. Maddie attempted a comforting smile, but failed miserably as she gave a small wave. Allison, on the other hand, gave the girl a wide, grateful smile in return before engulfing her in a tight hug. "Thank you so much."

"You should, ah, really be thanking Stiles. He kind of talked me into this," Maddie said, awkwardly returning the hug with a pat on the back. "Or don't thank him. He's kind of annoying when he thinks he's right."

Allison laughed quietly and let go before motioning for Maddie to take a seat. As they both sat down, Chris Argent took notice of Maddie's presence. He gave her a slight nod before turning his attention to the entrance of the cemetery. In the distance was an aged man, balding with a clean cut crown of white hair. His eyes were cold and the frown that lined his face was perhaps his most prominent feature, as it seemed as though it had been there for longer than Maddie could possibly fathom.

The man made his way over and stiffly hugged Chris before crossing in front of both Allison and Maddie to hug Victoria. Finally, he stopped in front of Allison with what might be considered a kind smile. No. No, it wasn't kind. There was something...off about it.

"Do you remember me?" he asked, his tone oddly pleasant despite sounds as though it was being dragged through gravel. Allison vaguely nodded before both the man's and Chris' eyes shot over to the far side of the field of tombstones. Something moved. Maddie kept her mouth shut, knowing exactly what it was and wishing she didn't. The old man's attention went back to the youngest Argent, calling forth an air of authority before he even said a word. "Considering I haven't seen you since you were three, I don't suppose I can assume you'd call me grandpa."

Maddie paled a bit as it was Allison's turn to attempt a smile, something she also failed at.

"So, if it's comfortable, call me Gerard for the time being," he continued. There was a pause before he smiled and added, "But I'd prefer grandpa."

He didn't acknowledge Maddie whatsoever. Not a look or a word in her direction. Instead, which was certainly worse, he took seat beside her in the only open chair. She fought the urge to shrink in her seat. He made her feel so _small_...not physically, of course. He wasn't a large man at all. His presence, though, almost demanded that he remained the most dominating in personality. It was grating.

The service dragged on as each member of the family said kind words on Kate's behalf. Brave, strong-willed, gone too soon. All the same words, over and over.   Allison said nothing, which was certainly understandable; she just cried in silence, even when she was nearly pushed to say something. It wasn't only uncomfortable, it was too calm, like the silence that cut through the air just after a nuclear explosion. It didn't help that she noted Scott and Stiles being pulled away by the Sheriff, which wasn't particularly surprising. What it did mean, though, was that she was all alone once again with these...people. A true pack of wolves surrounding her. There was no escape.

Once the service was over everyone stood and Maddie followed in suit. Even when they were entering the cars, she seemed to be cornered into accepting a ride as well. By the time they arrived at the Argents', the sun had almost completely set. Allison had yawned and retired to her room and just as Maddie was about to do the same, she was stopped by a hand.

Her eyes widened when she discovered it was Gerard's hand that had stopped her and suddenly it felt like a shackle. He smiled politely but, like Kate, there was something else in it – malice, perhaps. Whatever it was, it filled Maddie with a sense of dread as he spoke. "You, my dear, will be joining us this evening."

Maddie took a moment to find her voice as her unease grew. She threw a glance at Chris, who didn't seem very pleased with this arrangement either. "...For what?"

Gerard's smile grew, which turned the slayer's unease into panic. "For the hunt."

 

 

* * *

 

The woods were quiet, dark, and just as lovely as they were unsettling. To be fair, it wasn't actually the woods that were unsettling Madeline. No, not the woods. It was the _people_ in the woods – the people she was traveling with.

Behind her were three or four hunters she wasn't familiar with; ahead of her were Chris and Gerard. Chris carried a gun, as he normally did. That wasn't the part that unsettled her. It was the bag Gerard was carrying - he hobbled through the thick trees with it. Whatever he was carrying, it had to be uncommonly heavy. Maddie, in the center of all of these men, carried herself as she normally would. Head up, eyes straight ahead, back stiff – this was her general reaction to fear. She was beginning to wish she was back in her temporary room at the Argents' home or back in that sleazy motel room or, hell, stuck in that stupid, blue jeep-

She was also going to pretend she didn't just think that. On the other hand, it was still better than this.

"So! The _Slayer!_ " Gerard began virtually out of nowhere at all, excitement drowning his tone as Maddie tensed at the sound of his voice. "The most revered of hunters! It's _remarkable_ to see one after all this time!"

Maddie stayed silent as they walked through the wooded area.

"You know, I knew a slayer once! Long before your time, of course," he went on amiably. "Fantastic reflexes! And the that strength and prowess in battle...it's certainly a sight to see. She put my most skilled brothers to shame! Truly a magnificent specimen!"

She was gritting her teeth. The older slayers and the watchers always spoke of the slayer line as prestigious warriors.  _Heroes_. Gerard spoke about a slayer like a pure bred dog he once owned. Still, her mouth stayed shut even as her emotions stirred. Her rage settled and her fear rose once more as she heard something in the distance – fighting, growling. She sucked in a shaky breath.

Gerard had turned and for the first time, looked her dead in the eye. His smile had vanished and her blood turned to ice. "I expect the same from you."

There was yelp of pain and every head turned in the direction of it. In a flash, everyone went running with Maddie trailing behind. Her nerves were going haywire now as her fear throttled her, making it harder and harder to breathe. In no time at all, she found herself in a clearing with the rest of the hunters as something up head flailed helplessly. As she neared the creature, she realized that it wasn't quite so helpless to begin with. Strung up by it's wrists was a werewolf fighting to free itself.

It growled as Chris got closer, snapping at him with its canines. Chris instantly pulled out a metal rod and jabbed firmly into the wolf's torso as electricity coursed through him. Maddie's insides twisted painfully at the scream the creature let out. The wolf's face shifted to an ordinary man's visage and suddenly, the word helpless sprang to Maddie's mind once again. She stayed stock still as the hunter interrogated the man.

"Who are you?" he asked. The man stayed silent. "What are you _doing_ here?"

The frightened man shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing, I swear."

"You're not from here, are you?" Chris hardly waited for a response before his voice boomed throughout the clearing. " _ARE YOU?!_ "

"No," the man finally answered. "No, I came- ...I came looking for the Alpha. I heard he was here, that's all." Her eyes widened at the answer before he continued on. He knew what was coming "Look, I didn't do anything! I didn't hurt anyone! No one living! He wasn't alive in the ambulance! He wasn't, I swear!"

The was a short lived ease to Maddie's nerves before another voice echoed through the woods – Gerard's. "Gentlemen! Take a look at a rare sight! You want to tell them what we've caught?"

"An Omega," Chris answered as he stared the creature down.

"The lone wolf!" Gerard went on. "Possibly kicked out of his own pack or the survivor of a pack that was hunted down...or maybe even murdered. Possibly alone by his own choice." The Argent patriarch examined the wolf with great interest and amusement. "Certainly not a wise choice."

Gerard went over to the bag he had been carrying and revealed a large, two-handed sword, the silver of the blade shining in the moonlight. He turned to Maddie in that moment as he unsheathed it. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Maddie's brow furrowed as her body froze. "...what?" she choked out.

Gerard watched her for only a moment as if he had been expecting this reaction. "As I am about to demonstrate..." He gripped the sword tightly as he reached the helpless man. "...an Omega _rarely_ survives on his own!"

In one fell swoop, Gerard's sword cut through the man smoothly and the man's lower half dropped to the ground. Pieces of organs dangled and dripped blood from the open wound as the man's head went limp.

Maddie's mouth hung open and her entire brain had gone quiet. The man had been frightened and helpless – innocent as far as they knew. Yet, he had just been severed at the torso. He still hung there by his wrists, bleeding as the small breezed swayed the remainder of his body. She had seen people die before – terrible deaths that gave her nightmares. Never like this. _Never_...by someone whose side she was on. She felt the bile rise through her throat.

She could hardly even hear the men in front of her shout about the code. The _code_ , the god damned code.

"From now one these things are just bodies waiting to be cut in half. Are you listening? Because I don't care if they're wounded and weak. Or seemingly harmless - begging for their life with the promise that they will never, ever hurt anyone. Or some desperate, lost soul with no idea what they're getting into."

_This can't be happening. No, this isn't right! This...this...I have to..._

"We find them. We kill them."

Maddie's horrified gaze turned to the old man, and for a moment, she felt as helpless as the man who had just been killed right before her eyes.

"We kill them all!"

And in the moment, she wanted to run and tell Scott or Buffy or _someone_ who would listen. There was no one – only the bloody thirsty animals who had forced her into their war. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [From Ashes: The Trailer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6152686) by [anarchxst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchxst/pseuds/anarchxst)




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